Primary Wii Gamer in U.S. Households is Young Males – Magid

The Wii has been an exciting innovation and an innovation that has challenged some of the traditional "lore" of the gaming industry – specifically that graphics and computer power are the "holy grail."

Our research clearly shows that many non-traditional gamers are enjoying their Wii, but that the primary Wii gamer in each household is still the traditional, young male.

When it comes to the secondary Wii gamer in each household, however, the gender distribution is fairly balanced across age groups.

Approximately 15% of the households in our online survey of 12- to 64-year-olds (matched to the U.S. census) indicate they own a Wii and the overall satisfaction is quite high with the average consumer giving the Wii an 8.8 out of 10 possible points. Over 80% of the owners/players gave their Wii a score of 8-10 out of 10 points total.

The momentum for Wii is still big and growing. Over a third of Wii players (34%) said they were likely to play their Wii more in the year ahead than they do now and 56% say they will play the same amount. Only 8% of Wii gamers said they are going to decrease their time spent playing Wii.

And the Wii phenomenon is also drawing kids and parents, as well as siblings closer together. When we asked respondents under 25 years of age who they were regularly playing Wii games with, over a third said they were playing with parents, 9% with grandparents, and 62% with their siblings. The largest group (71%) said they are playing with their friends on the Wii.

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Mike Vorhaus is the Managing Director at Frank N. Magid Associates, a world leader in research-based consultation that has provided strategic insight and direction for clients in 37 countries around the world.