Online Game Playing is Still the Most Popular Online Activity

The popularity of the internet has grown immensely in the past 10 years. At one point in time it was considered "geeky" to spend a lot of time on the internet. That is not how the internet is viewed today though; it is viewed as a marketing goldmine. Marketing companies want to reach as many people as they can on the internet. Because of that they pay attention to studies like the Casual Gaming Market Update from Parks Associates. This is a report that monitors what forms of entertainment people use the internet for. Parks Associates announced in a recent press release that online gaming is still the most common activity engaged in on the internet for entertainment.

Thirty-four percent of adults in the United States that access the internet have played online versions of games on a regular basis (weekly) within the past month. That is compared with just 29 percent who have viewed online videos. The latest trend on the internet is social networking websites such as myspace.com and facebook.com. These websites allow individuals communicate with their friends and form social circles. Even though it's a trendy experience, it has not caught up to game playing or video watching at this point. Only 19% of adults who have accessed the internet in the past month used it for social networking.

Marketers are always seeking to reach these captive audience members, and one of the ways they do this is through advertising in online games. For now, gaming is still the most popular activity online. This is good news for online marketers because it is the easiest way for them to reach potential customers. Online gaming has certain advantages over videos and social networking websites. It gives advertisers the chance to advertise within the game itself, it also can produce money for the game manufacturers through offering trial game offers, monthly subscriptions, and purchases for "add-on's" in the games. This combination of being attractive to the advertisers and the game creators themselves is a good sign for the industry.

"The casual gaming industry cannot rest on its laurels," James Kuai who is a research analyst with Parks Associates said. "In order to counter the growing competition from other online activities, the industry needs to continue to grow its fan base and find ways to better monetize its existing audience."

To demonstrate this, the yearly growth in online gaming activities is 79%, and the growth for social networking is only 49%. The challenge to online gaming though comes from the video streaming websites, which saw an increase of over 100%, it was 123% to be precise when compared with usage of their websites last year. Only time will tell if online gaming remains the preference of both users and advertisers alike. Where the users are the advertisers must follow.

SOURCES:

Prnewswire.com. "Gaming Remains the Most Popular Online Entertainment Activity".
URL: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/08-16-2007/0004646857&EDATE=THU+Aug+16+2007,+11:22+AM