Study shows rise in digital game downloads and fall of physical game sales

Based on the recent study, Video Game Acquisition in Canada, by The NPD Group, a shift in the gaming behavior of Canadians has them downloading more games—predominantly free downloads—than buying physical copies despite many of them preferring the old console format. Listed below are some of the findings:

• On average, 15.4 games were acquired per user in 2013, a drop from 17.3 games in 2012. The trend is attributed to the drop in physical game sales because fewer titles were released in the past year (25 percent less).
• Canadians are now playing more games on handheld devices like smartphones and tablets.
• Mobile gaming has grown as a major part of the video game industry. The NPD Group estimates the digital channel has an increase of 58 percent of total acquisitions in 2013 as compared to 50 percent in 2012.
• Free digital gaming has nearly doubled in share of acquisitions since 2011. On the other hand, paid digital gaming experienced only modest growth in the past three years.
• The average consumer spends roughly seven hours per week gaming, which is approximately the same amount as last year.
• Over one third or 35 percent of Canadian gamers claim they have cut back on how much time they spend playing video games, while 19 percent or only one in five claim they are spending more time playing.