July 22, 2004

By: Lorenz Wing
Website: http://www.1st-in-games.com

Study Shows Boys Spend More Time Playing With Video Games Than With Each of the Traditional Toy Categories

Boys ages 5 to 12 are spending more time playing video games than with each of the traditional toy categories in an average week, while girls in the same age group tend to spend more or comparable time with several toy categories as they do video games, according to The NPD Group’s recently-released report, Toying with Video Games: An In-depth Report on the Impact of Video Games on Traditional Toys.

According to the report, the average time children among the ages of 5 to 12 spend playing video games is 4.2 hours per week, with one-third of boys and only 10 percent of girls playing more than six hours per week. Nearly half of the children in the study began playing video games between the ages of 4 and 5, with 20 percent beginning at age 3 or younger.

Older boys, ages 9 to 12, show a tendency to gravitate away from specific traditional toy categories in favor of spending more time playing video games, while girls in the same age group continue to show little to no difference in time spent between playing with video games and toys. However, as girls get older, they are more likely than boys to find interests outside of both the traditional toy and video games markets.

The toy categories being most threatened by video games for older boys are Action Figures, Building Sets, Games/Puzzles and Vehicles. Those toys not as affected by video games include Learning and Exploration toys and outdoor-oriented categories such as Summer Seasonal and Sports Toys/Ride-Ons.

Not surprising, region plays a key role in determining the amount of time being spent playing video games. Children in the South and West regions of the United States are more likely to play video games on a consistent basis throughout the year, while kids in the Northeast and Central regions are likely to play video games more often in the winter time.

Video games demand the attention of toy manufacturers who want to understand their implications to play time with traditional toys, said Michael Redmond, senior industry analyst, The NPD Group.

For toy manufacturers, determining how to leverage the ‘power’ of video games in order to take advantage of their popularity through different marketing tactics is essential. By researching which types of video games are most popular among children, toy manufacturers can discover new licensing opportunities.

About The Author:

Lorenz Wing is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-games.com.  Great games for the entire family for hours of fun or competition. We feature all your favorites.