• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 10, 2003

Untapped Opportunities For Videogame Companies In The Teen Market

According to Jupiter Research's new report "Audience Benchmark: Teen Videogame Adoption, Usage and Preferences", female teens represent a highly underserved sub-segment while teens from low-income households are voracious game players that also merit special attention. And, although teens account for less than 10% of the U.S. population, they represent 20% of the console videogame audience.

"Despite the shifting demographic of the average videogame consumer towards an older market, teens 13 to 17 years old will remain a driving force for the industry," stated Jupiter Research Analyst Jay Horwitz. "Companies that can capture both the imagination and wallet of this group will claim an important audience for today and tomorrow."

Jupiter Research data show that teens from low-income households are more intensive videogame players than their high-income counterparts. Whereas teens from low-income households play an average of 9.7 hours per week, their high-income household counterparts log almost a third less time (6.5 hours). Furthermore, nearly 60% of teens from low-income households own legacy platforms compared to only 37% among high-income households.

The report also highlights major gender disparity among teens: on a monthly basis, only 67% of female teens play videogames compared to 95% of male teens.

"We believe these characteristics of the teen audience present significant opportunities for game companies" said Horwitz..

You can find out more here.