Thinking about gifting your kid a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One this holiday season? They may prefer a new smartphone.
According to a new NPD Group report, children ages 2 to 17 prefer gaming on mobile devices to consoles and PCs. The decline can be seen across all young age groups, but is most pronounced among 2- to 5-year-olds, according to NPD. After all, tiny fingers do make for easier gameplay on tiny screens.
"The largest and most surprising shift in the 2015 gaming ecosystem was kids' move away from the computer," which has seen a 22 percent drop since 2013, according to analyst Liam Callahan.
"In the past, the computer was considered the entry point for gaming for most kids, but the game has changed now that mobile has moved into that position," NPD's Callahan said. "This may be related to a change in the behavior of parents [who] are likely utilizing mobile devices for tasks that were once reserved for computers."
It's not hard to believe: Kids everywhere are being distracted by phones and tablets—in restaurants, on the subway, while Mom and Dad finish household chores. Plus, as manufacturers and developers get smart to their changing audience, more devices and digital games are being geared toward kids and education.
As NPD pointed out, though, while PC and console interest may be waning, the frequency of mobile gaming has remained steady since 2013. What did change, however, was kids' engagement and time spent on the devices. 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.
Overall, time spent on consoles is flat, "with equal portions of players playing more and less," NPD said. But when it comes to newer consoles, like Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, gaming "is on the rise."
"While overall gaming incidence rates have remained high, shifts in consumer behavior—things like growth in time spent gaming—are surprising changes," Callahan said. "This type of insight is invaluable to anyone engaged in marketing video games to kids."
Retailers should also note: Across all areas of spending, boys are most likely to shell out more of their allowance—$54 on average, compared to $36 for girls. The latter, however, are more likely to game on their mobile device, where the average money spent amounts to $13.
Source: pcmag.com
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