Gaming is a mainstream activity globally: The US and China are the top gaming markets
New York, NY – May 31, 2016 – Nielsen today announced the first-ever global edition of its annual Nielsen 360° Gaming report, a landscape study of video game fans and consumer behavior. This expanded report explores video game behavior in seven major gaming markets around the world to discover the evolution of local gaming landscapes and global gaming trends. The seven markets covered in this expanded report are the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, China, Brazil and Mexico.
The Nielsen 360° Gaming report provides a comprehensive overview of consumer dynamics in the gaming industry. This annual report adds an in-depth view of video game consumption, emerging tech trends, such as virtual reality (VR) and eSports, as well as media behavior, device ownership and usage, and analysis on how consumers interact with games and consoles in their daily lives. This iteration of the report features expanded international insights that reflect the growth of gaming around the globe.
Key findings from the report include:
- Across all regions studied, over 50% of consumers identify as gamers! In fact, globally, mobile and consoles share the crown for the most played gaming devices.
- Among gamers, gaming represents between 8% and 15% of leisure time across countries, with China leading the pack!
- Action adventure, shooter and sports games on console are the favorite genres in all the regions studied— and for mobile, puzzle and general entertainment apps are played all around the world.
- eSports is a growing global trend and 83%-93% of fans of this phenomenon are gamers themselves.
“Gaming has expanded its’ footprint across consumer demographics as well as across nations! With China’s lift on a gaming consoles ban, the global rise of mobile gaming and a general curiosity in virtual reality (VR) as well as the pockets of eSports growth in Latin America and Asia, gaming is becoming a universal leisure activity,” said Stephane Elshocht, VP Client Consulting for Nielsen Games. “Game publishers and marketers need global strategies and intelligence and Nielsen is uniquely positioned to provide this perspective based on our global coverage and long-standing industry experience. The first global edition of our 360° Gaming industry report is a statement of our commitment to continue to measure and service this ever-changing industry worldwide.”
ABOUT NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers Watch and Buy. Nielsen’s Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services across all devices where content—video, audio and text—is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry’s only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen provides its clients with both world-class measurement as well as analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries that cover more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.