Smartphones, Tablets Now Most Popular Gaming Devices For Kids

Not too long ago, when playing any sort of video game, kids often used the computer. But it appears that those days of playing games on computers are numbered. Mobile devices, which include smartphones and tablets, are now the most popular devices used by kids for gaming purposes, especially those with ages from 2 years old to 17 years old. 

This was reported by the NPD Group in a report they published just recently. According to the report, 63 percent of kids say that they now play video games using a mobile device, either on a smartphone or a tablet. As for those kids who still prefer gaming done on computers, the NPD Group found that 45 percent of kids now use a home PC to play games. This is a drop of 22 points from a couple of years. The decline is most evident among kids whose ages are between 2 years old and 5 years old. As for video game consoles, it appears that their usage share is eroding too -- back in 2013, 67 percent of kids play games on consoles, but fast forwarding to 2015, that percentage is down to 60 percent.

The NPD Group’s findings are not too surprising. The world of course has increasingly become more mobile in the last few years. The computer was once the default device used not only for playing games, but also for browsing the Internet and finding information. But within the last half decade or so, people now have mobile devices in their hands that could perform all these tasks just as easily as computers do. 

At 60 percent usage rate, video gaming consoles are still pretty commonly used. But the NPD Group’s data shows that the average time spent by kids playing games on consoles is flat whereas the average time kids spent on playing mobile devices have increased. As a matter of fact, about 41 percent of the kids surveyed by the NPD Group stated that they spend more time playing games on mobile devices this year compared to one year ago, with the average time spent rising to six hours a week.

Additionally, it is no surprise that as the time spent by kids playing games on mobile devices have increased, so is the average amount of money they spent in the purchasing of video games. The NPD Group’s survey shows that the average amount of cash spent has risen from $5 to $27 over the past three months. Physical games are still leading, earning $27 on average over a period of three months. Moreover, 20 percent of the kids surveyed by the NPD Group stated that they spend more money on games and in-app purchases this year compared to one year ago.