Gaming Insights Did you know? March 2011

Did you know Gaming online has grown more popular among UK internet users, particularly fuelled by the expansion of games played within social networks and on smartphones. According to nVision Research, 40% of social network users play games and over 50% of smartphone owners use mobile gaming apps. (nVision, 2010) Audiences are learning to use the wide functionality of all of the technological devices at their disposal, enabling increased access and choice of content in and out of the home. Home games consoles facilitate watching of DVDs/Blu-ray discs wherever there is a TV in the home. (nVision, 2010) Almost a quarter of the population (23%) are happy to stay in more often these days because of in-home entertainment technology. The recession has accelerated this cocooning trend, with a third saying they can afford to go out but “just prefer staying in these days”. (Mintel, 2010) The top five most talked about topics online worldwide (in blog posts, comments, forum threads, articles from community and industry sites, etc.) are: health (14%), games (13%), auto & moto (13%), IT & tech (9%), and sports (8%)

Searches for Xbox on Bing are 172% higher than Sony Playstation consoles and 119% higher than Nintendo Wii’s over the last 28 months! Searches for Xbox, Xbox 360 and peripherals have increased by +52% month on month between October and November and +46% YoY for November 2010! The launch of Kinect not only has received raved reviews but has also contributed to the enormous growth in Xbox related search volume. With sales already exceeding 2.5 million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5 million units sold to consumers this holiday Don Mattrick, Microsoft EDD 1.Microsoft Advertising Intelligence Tool Battle of the Consoles This was the quote in November – we didn’t hit 5million units – we smashed that target and hit 8 million! “ “

Demographic Profiles by console Over the last few months we have seen a shift in users now also searching for Xbox 360 and Xbox peripherals Kinect seems to be landing with all generations of searchers, including older generations bringing the family closer together through entertainment. Other consoles are traditional ‘gaming console’s’ it seems. Nintendo PSP’s are popular with the older generation rather than Wii’s so this accounts for a slightly higher year old increase compared to other consoles

Battle of the Consoles During the Q Christmas period, sales increased 33% versus the same period in 2009 Xbox boosts games console market share in The Kinect has boosted the appeal of the Xbox among casual gamers, but it must be careful to keep hard-core gamers engaged as well. The launch of the Move and Kinect means HD graphics are the new standard in motion control gaming. Nintendo will likely need to move beyond last gen graphics and incorporate HD in order stay competitive. The announcement of a successor device, the ‘Wii 2’, is rumoured for some point in 2011 Source: Mintel - VGChartz/Mintel, Feb 2011Mintel The Kinect seems to have the upper-hand over the PlayStation Move and the Wii in the motion control war, with the Xbox 360 outselling both the Wii and the PS3 last Christmas. The release of family friendly Kinect titles has been key to this success, attracting new casual gamers to the platform.

Xbox Christmas unit sales of the Xbox 2009 and 2010 (Christmas period is defined as being from November 21st to January 1 st ) Kinect Confirmed As Fastest-Selling Consumer Electronics Device Ever o Guinness World Records, the global authority on record breaking, today confirm that the Kinect for the Xbox 360 is the Fastest-Selling Consumer Electronics Device. The hardware, that allows controller-free gaming, sold through an average of 133,333 units per day, for a total of 8 million units in its first 60 days on sale from 4 November 2010 to 3 January Guinness World Records Unit sales by games console 2009 and 2010 steepest increase was in Xbox 360 sales, which grew 71% year-on-year. Growth was partly driven by the Kinect motion controller, which helped boost Xbox 360 sales during the Q4 Christmas period. Major retailers such as Game Group (owners of the Game and Gamestation stores) and Tesco have publicly cited the Kinect as one of their biggest Christmas sellers, and have attributed an increase in Xbox 360 demand to the popularity of the motion control add-on. The device will continue to push Xbox 360 sales through 2011, likely at the expense of the Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Wii Christmas Unit Sales of the Nintendo Wii (Christmas period is defined as being from November 21st to January 1 st ) Christmas sales of the Nintendo Wii decreased by 19% between 2009 and Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo did not release a new console add-on in Indeed, Nintendo has not updated the Wii since first introducing it in 2006 and it is perhaps little surprise sales are starting to dwindle. With Sony and Microsoft now fusing motion control with HD graphics, Nintendo may need to raise its game once more. It is likely that the company will need to launch a successor device to the Wii, with updated graphics and features, sometime soon in order to stay competitive.

Sony Playstation Christmas sales of the PlayStation decreased by 3% between 2009 and 2010, despite the launch of the PlayStation Move accessory on September 17th The launch of the Kinect, just a couple of months after the PlayStation Move, seems to have stunted the latter’s sales performance. The PlayStation Move was not able to stimulate PlayStation 3 sales in the same way the Kinect has done for the Xbox 360, and it would appear that Microsoft currently has an advantage over Sony in a number of areas Christmas Unit Sales of the PlayStation 3, 2009 and 2010

Microsoft Advertising conducted a demographic and behavioural profiling study focused on male UK Xbox gamers, aged 25 – 34. This demographic: MSA Xbox Gamer Study (2010)

Lifestyle attitudes to brand and money Gamers are much more likely to agree with each of the following statements than the average male year old:

1.High personal incomes 2.Motivated by money/premium status 3.Consider themselves knowledgeable and influential 4.Social - always online and frequently gaming Top line what did the study show? Male Xbox Live Online Gamers have 4 key characteristics: For a more detailed report and if needed – presentation, please let your Sales contact know.