Report suggests the UK is a console nation
According to a report by the NPD Group, UK gamers are predominantly choosing consoles over PCs while their German counterparts are doing the opposite.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was that the tide of console gamers is a cultural phenomenon which does not appear to cross every border. According to NPD's research, while the UK has the highest incidence of console usage out of all the markets analysed Germany boasts the biggest number of PC gamers.
France, meanwhile, is clinging on to dedicated hand-held consoles like the Nintendo 3DS and Sony PlayStation Portable at a time when NPD's analysis shows that gamers in most other nations have ditched theirs in favour of getting their portable gaming fixes on smartphones and tablets.
It's a trend in which America is leading: NPD's figures claim that portable hardware usage is a fraction that of what it terms 'app device usage,' with around half of all gamers with dedicated portable devices also playing games on their phones. Europe, meanwhile, isn't far behind: gaming on smartphones and tablets sits at around the same level as that on dedicated portable devices.
French gamers are traditional in another way, too. While gamers in the UK and Germany are buying their games almost equally in physical and digital formats, those in France are almost completely ignoring digital distribution platforms in favour of heading to a bricks and mortar store in order to get their hands on a physical product.
NPD's research also suggests that US gamers are typically older than those in Europe, a conclusion that may be called into question by anyone who has played a console FPS online. According to the analysis, Europe has a higher percentage of gamers in the 13-34 age bracket than the US.
The research, to be released in a pair of reports entitled US Games Market Dynamics and Europe Games Market Dynamics, suggests that developers and publishers need to target their wares carefully in order to maximise sales in particular regions. What the reports fail to investigate, sadly, is the reason for the geographical split: with roughly similar pricing and availability in both UK and German markets, it's unclear why the UK has embraced console gaming while German gamers are remaining true to where it all started with PCs proving the most popular platform.
One thing is clear, however: portable gaming is shifting to the smartphone, and with Sony betting heavily on the success of its upcoming PlayStation Vita hand-held console that's not likely to be welcome news for the company.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyHolding out against the tide of the console forces intent on global conquest and the advent of a proletarian paradise where everyone has exactly the same graphical experience.
don't you mean chav's ?
And foreign criminals!
No, it didn't; it said most of Britain plays consoles.
Nope, I'm pretty sure he meant chavs. Bad apostrophe is bad!
This kind of doesn't surprise me. Brits seem to love their gadgets, whereas in my limited experience of Germans they seem to place more emphasis on proper quality equipment.
To combat the consoles I pledge to spend even more time gaming on my PC :)
We also have PC World and DSGi Group, so it isn't surprising :p
"Intel HD3000 graphics for amazing visuals!" (seriously, i work in field marketing)
They've created a focus in the UK on sub £400 being the focus for laptop manufacturers as this is what consumers expect to pay. Apparently this is only true of the UK and the rest of Europe is far more focussed on performance (as evidenced by Germany it would seem...)
It's a bad sign when I was thinking the same thing just by reading the title, and I scroll down to find I'm not alone...
Check the price against "outside" EU, it's much more affordable...
Most Brits don't know **** about computers... even the younger generations, completely retarded, computer and most other things wise...
:( Even just a sample size and who they got the names from would be a good start.
Most useless age bracket ever.
England has just become too much for me. (obviously more than just console gaming issues)
PC gaming for life. The Console generation (aforementioned kids) are bad at gaming in general. I've had a ridiculous number of bad match made Halo:Reach games in the past couple of months because of it.
Hey, parents... Hey, yeah you... Come here. Listen carefully:
THE GAME SAYS PEGI 16. GET THOSE LITTLE JUMPED UP NOOBS OFF THE CONSOLE AND INTO BED BEFORE THEY LOSE ME ANOTHER EASY GAME, YEAH?
That's pretty much how I feel about console games. MS lost my support and respect when they first 'kidified' the 360 dashboard. The Xbox used to be the grown-ups console. That is definitely no longer the case.
Exactly what I thought, I work in marketing (yes I have no soul) but even without getting more data I can tell you in my opinion the whole thing is rendered useless by this one simple statement.
Honestly, 13-34 as a bracket, in a study? Like nothing changes to a persons purchasing powers in that time, or as if people don't put emphasis on different things as they mature. I'd say that 23-34 is a bit wide, but having a bracket as wide as in this study ruins any credibility.
Hehe
I frequently get surprised looks when I say I game on PC. :S People just don't factor PC's into the equation any more. They see them only as dull white boxes you use to write emails on. A f****** travesty! It is the best platform going, and one you can upgrade! Bloody public so used to sealed boxes they don't even consider tweaking them. Bit-tech is a lifeline from the ill-informed masses..
I laughed out loud in the middle of a class reading this
I am loathed to concur with this. I live here after all...but, well Gunsmith is sadly right. >:(
'merica is full of retards too, they are all over (console players that is)
An electronic device, similar to a computer but with underpowered hardware that can only play expensive games. Allows only for gamepads to interact with said games, even FPS.
But now the world knows!!! Before we could just pretend we didn't know them.. or push them under a train. Now it is over! Over I tell you!..*sobs*
Too true, HOWEVER they falsely market the product as being good for gaming, so when a punter wanders back into PC World and buys BF3, they get it home and wonder why it won't run.
Surely if there is a high demand/emphasis on PC gaming in Germany the prices of components (Im thinking motherboards, cpus here) are worth sourcing there?
Can anyone recommend the equivalent of Scan in Germany?!
agreed! :D
As long as Uk schools teach our younger generation to only us the mouse and software, they will continue to use consoles, and the likes of the IT industry will continue to keep moving forward stronger over here and other countries surrounding than in the UK.
Nope...USA is way cheaper. UK is cheaper for games.
You can try:
For checking prices the best website for the German region is:
Geizhals.at (then choose Germany (the german flag) or europe, the european flag) as it defaults to Austria, which is a tad more expensive.
Good Webshops (that have existed for a long time):
Hardwareversand.de (in english)
Mindfactory.de
alternate.de
kmcomputer.de
Come again? I must have slept through the Personal Computer domination (for gaming) prior1995. The BBC, acorns, electron, Atari ST and Amigas etc were very popular back then but when it came to gaming these PC's were still dominated by console gamers.
You're right that most consoles were for kids, they still are. But that doesn't mean they have less market power.
The PS1 was just the first console to top 100m sales. Escalating consoles market representation surely, but not pushing them ahead, they already were.
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Is this why in europe, japan, US the 3ds has already shattered records? It was the number 1 selling game device in 2011 in 9 months