Children and baby boomers are entering the gaming market in droves, changing the traditional image of the young male as the quintessential gamer, says an unprecedented study of Canada's gaming market.

According to the consumer report on video gaming conducted by leading market research company The NPD Group (www.npd.com), children are entering the gaming market at younger ages while baby boomers have either remained active or have re-entered the market.

"We were surprised to find that the standard of the classic young male as video gaming enthusiast has forever changed," said Matthew Tattle, spokesperson for NPD Canada's Games group. "With the increasing adoption of a digitally-based lifestyle by the majority of consumers, it was only a matter of time before we would see gaming become part of the mainstream."

The NPD's Group's survey found the video gaming landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years with specific gamer segments driving video game sales in portable, PC and console gaming. Video game sales -- which include portable and console hardware, software and accessories -- continue to grow at an unprecedented rate, generating revenues of more than $1.8 billion in Canada for the 12 months ending June 2008. This figure represents a 56-per-cent increase over the $1.2 billion in revenue from the previous 12 months.

The NPD Group report also defines seven primary gaming segments that represent Canada's broadening gaming demographics. The combined video game software market for these seven segments represents $617 million (Dec. 2007 – May 2008), with console gamers capturing the lion's share of this market, followed by portable gamers and extreme gamers.

The seven key gaming segments identified in the NPD report include:

• Extreme Gamers - Play on average 49 hours per week, own two consoles and at least one portable.


• Casual Console Gamers - Play about five hours a week on consoles and another two hours per week on PCs


• Portable Gamers - Play on average 15 hours per week, split evenly between portables, consoles and the PC


• Console Gamers - Play on average 13.8 hours per week and represent the largest segment of the market both in terms of number of gamers (29 per cent) as well as share of software revenue (35 per cent)


• Casual PC Gamers - Spend more than nine hours per week playing PC games


• Offline PC Gamers - Play a total of 10 hours per week; they are the oldest gamers with an average age of 40


• Heavy Online PC Gamers - Play about 18 hours per week, most of it online on their PCs

"Given the diversity in these gaming segments, retailers, publishers and manufacturers in the video game industry are wise to leverage research information in order to create products that will speak to the specific segment needs," Tattle said.

In addition, the report shows that year-over-year sales for PC games dropped 20 per cent for the period ending June 2008. The decline is in stark contrast to sales figures for new generation console games, which saw a 56-per-cent increase during the same period, indicating a growing adoption of the latest technologies.

"The gaming industry is alive and well in Canada with all signs indicating increased growth in the coming months and years ahead," said Tattle. "As Canadians continue to embrace technology, companies will create games that reflect the sophistication and engagement that is now a priority for dedicated and casual gamers alike."

The study surveyed 16,774 respondents between June 13 and 30, including six- to 17-year-olds, whose results were captured through parental assistance.