63 percent of kids in the U.S. between the ages of two and 17 play games built for mobile platforms compared to only 45 percent that play on the PC.
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A new NPD report says more kids are playing on mobile devices than on PCs or consoles these days.
“The largest and most surprising shift in the 2015 gaming ecosystem was kids’ move away from the computer”. Plus, as manufacturers and developers get smart to their changing audience, more devices and digital games are being geared toward kids and education.
This report adds credence to recent claims from Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, who believes the console audience has reached its peak. Fast forward to today where phones are a lot more engaging due to their ability to surf the web, listen to music, watch videos, and play games, things are different. Sound off with your thoughts in the comments. Interestingly, while girls are more likely to game on their mobile device, average spending on gaming apps is the same for boys and girls. NPD didn’t break down the numbers in this regards, however, saying only that it is less significant than the drop seen with PC gaming. Even I, as a notably young starter, wasn’t playing computer games on my own until age 5 or 6. Among the seventh generation consoles, players are much more likely to state that their play time has diminished compared to a year ago.
Kids, according to the report, are favoring traditional game consoles like the 3DS less than they used to. Among those surveyed, 41 percent said they spend more time on smartphones and tablets than a year ago; the average time spent per week grew to six hours.
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Physical games still attract the highest average spend at $27.
