Survey: More than Half of U.K., France and Germany Adults are Gamers

DUBLIN, August 8, 2011 -

United Kingdom has the Highest Ratio of Gamers in Europe, With 68% of men and 59% of Women Playing Games.

PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, today announced the results of the National Gamers Surveys which found more than half of all adults in the United Kingdom, France and Germany play games, with over 153 million men and women estimated to play consoles, casual game sites, social networks and mobile devices. The survey, conducted by Newzoo, also found that there is no one dominant gaming platform in Europe, with gamers splitting their time between all types of devices - but spending more money on console games.

Overall, the United Kingdom has the highest ratio of gamers, with 68% of men and 59% of women playing games. In Germany, 63% of men and 54% of women play games. In France, 61% of men and 52% of women play games. But while there are more gamers that spend more in total in the United Kingdom and Germany, it’s the French that spend the most money per player, spending an average of £22.3 per month, which is more than the United States, where players spend an average £17.5 each month. The United Kingdom spends £18.6 per player each month while Germany spends £13.9/month.

“What these results tell us is that a one size fits all strategy for Europe doesn’t work as there are quite different platform gaming habits, needs and expectations between France, Germany and the UK,” stated Paul Breslin, General Manager of PopCap Europe. “This is clearly a maturing market that has by no means finished evolving. People want to play a range of different games across different platforms. From a publisher’s perspective, this shows the importance of having diversity and multi-platform solutions to reach individual markets in these important regions.”

Among the survey’s findings,

• In Europe, the United Kingdom has the highest ratio of gamers, with 68% of men and 59% of women playing games. In Germany, 63% of men and 54% of women play games. In France, 61% of men and 52% of women play games. That’s an estimated total of 153,133,640 gamers in these three regions alone.
• In Europe, games are most popular in the age group  between 10 and 20-years-old, with 87% of 10 - 20-year-olds in in the U.K., 81% in France and 78% in Germany all playing games.
• European gamers split their time evenly between game consoles, casual game sites, social networks, mobile devices, downloadable games and boxed games, with no one platform attracting more than 50% of play time.
• Behind the US, which spends £13.2bn per year on gaming, the biggest gaming economy is Germany (£4bn from 24m payers), followed by the United Kingdom (£3.6bn from 16.1m payers), and France (£2.8bn from 10.4m payers).
• European gamers spend more money towards gaming on console games than on casual, social or mobile gaming, with German gamers spending 34% of their gaming money (£4bn 2011 estimate) on console games compared to 8% on casual game sites, 4% on social networks and 8% on mobile games.
• U.K. gamers spend 44% of their gaming money (£3.6bn) on console games compared to 11% on casual game sites, 6% on social networks and 10% on mobile games.
• French gamers also spend 44% of their gaming money (£2.8bn) on console games compared to 10% on casual game sites, 6% on social networks and 10% on mobile games.
• While the number one reason to play most games - casual game sites, social networks, gaming consoles, boxed games, and downloaded games - is to relax and unwind, the main reason European gamers play games on mobile devices is because they’re bored.

Survey Methodology

This international research was conducted by Newzoo in co-operation with Survey Sampling International Inc.  (SSI; www.surveysampling.com/) for PopCap Games. The results are based on 20,000 online surveys completed by consumers aged between 10 - 65 in 10 countries: US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico and Russia in March, 2011. The sample size per country was greater than 1500 respondents. To arrive at projected absolute population numbers (e.g. number of gamers on a specific platform), the survey results were multiplied with the estimated internet population for each age group. These figures were derived from national consensus data on age distribution combined with estimated internet penetration per age group. The estimated margin of error is 2 - 3 percent. Smaller subgroups reflect larger margins of sampling error. Other sources of error, such as variations in the order of questions or the wording within the questionnaire, may also contribute to different results.

About PopCap

PopCap Games is the leading global developer, publisher and operator of casual video games: fun, easy-to-learn, captivating games that appeal to all ages across PC, mobile, social and other platforms. Based in Seattle, Washington, PopCap was founded in 2000 and has a worldwide staff of more than 400 people in Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver, B.C., Dublin, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. PopCap’s games have been downloaded over 1.5 billion times by consumers worldwide, and its flagship franchise, Bejeweled^®, has sold more than 50 million units.

The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and are used for the benefit of those owners.

Cathy Orr, corr@popcap.com, +353-1-646-8107

.