The digital means is intruding on retail sales and the survey report from NPD suggests that this intrusion is only just the beginning. According to the report, one in every three gamers in US will be buying games digitally rather than walking up to the store.
According to the NPD, more than one-third (that’s 35% to be exact) of consumers who have purchased video games within the past three months would rather avoid buying a physical copy of their games. This surge of digital-preference is up by 10% since last year.
The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market research industry. Even more interesting is the statistic that 40% of gamers have admitted to purchasing both the retail and digital copies of the same game.
It’s interesting to see this welcomed change to the video game industry. Sony already seems to be onboard with the digital age, having upgraded PSN to support pre-loading functionality.
NPD have also found that F2P titles on mobile devices have made it easier than ever before for consumers to acquire their games online. NPD has also reported that the consumers who acquired games online have downloaded an average of six titles, while those who bought them at retail shops have purchased an average of three only.
Consumers open to both physical and digital formats acquired an average of 15 games. NPD also noticed a slight increase of online gamers who say that entertainment features on their consoles distract them from gaming, as well as those who say that they’re spending less money on games because of those entertainment features.
Are digital sales the future of gaming? Only time will tell.
