Mobile devices account for almost half of all video game downloads

Mobile phone users are going game-crazy now that mobile devices are capable of providing a gaming experience that is as good as, or better, than the gaming experience on portable games consoles, personal computers and other gaming systems.

Digital game downloads for mobile devices represent close to half of all full digital video game downloads, even among those who use a console for online gaming, said market researcher The NPD Group.

"Mobile gaming represents one of the fastest growing segments of the digital games market, and potential for future growth remains strong as more consumers are using smartphones for games of all types, including the increasingly popular mobile game apps," said Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry analyst, The NPD Group Toys & Video Games industries.

"It is important to keep in perspective that the full-game price points on mobile devices are generally lower than those for console and portables systems, so mobile's full game download unit share does not translate to a comparable level of consumer spend."

Sixty percent of the consumers who had purchased a game on their mobile in the last three months indicated that they were still purchasing games for their console or portable console.

The same respondents said that their average spend on console games was about the same or slightly more, despite their additional mobile purchases.

"While there is clearly some substitution for spending on traditional forms of gaming among 40 percent of consumers, the majority of mobile consumers indicate that this spending is incremental to their spend on console or portable games," said Anita Frazier, "which makes sense since the games and devices provide for different types of gaming occasions and experiences."

The same study found that 75 percent of respondents preferred to own a physical copy of a game over a digital copy (assuming the price and release dates were the same).

The most popular reason given by those who chose a digital copy over a physical copy was "the convenience of downloading at home and not having to go to the store."

NDP’s Online Gaming 2011 study was released on May 4 and conducted during the period from February 15 to March 14, 2011. 8,214 Americans aged two and older took part in the study.