Other World Notes: 1 in 8 Americans Virtual World Users

As I reported this morning for GigaOM, a leading research firm surveying US consumers has found that 12% of the population bought a virtual item over the last 12 months, such as gifts in a social game on Facebook, virtual currency for an online world, weapon upgrades in PC/console games, etc. As I researched that figure further with the lead analyst, I asked him for a breakdown not just of virtual currency/item purchases, but virtual world usage. That led to a fascinating stat they got from their respondents:

13%, or about 1 in 8 Americans between 12-64, reported being a regular virtual world user.

That's a much larger figure than many might expect, but since it includes everything from World of Warcraft to web-based MMOs like Habbo and Club Penguin, and also Second Life (all frequently cited during surveys, the analyst told me), fairly plausible. Full breakdown of other consumer usage after the break:

Total sample = 1927 respondents ages 12-64

• 248 Visited Virtual Worlds Regularly, or roughly 13% of total US population ages 12-64
• 790 Visited Social Networks Regularly, 41% of total population
• 253 Played Social Network Games, or 13% of total population
• 462 are Weekly Console Gamers, or 24% total population
• 379 are Weekly PC Gamers, or 20% total population
• 578 are Weekly Free Web-Based Gamer, or 30% total population
• 208 are Weekly Handheld Gamer, or 11% of total population
• 239 are Weekly Mobile Gamer, or 12% of total population
• 1445 are Cell Phone Owners, or 75% of the total population
• 173 are Smartphone Owners, or 9% of total population
• 77 are iPhone Owners, or 4% of total population

Source: Frank N. Magid Associates.

Update, 10:28a: I originally wrote "1 in 7" but changed that to round down.

Comments

[Dusan Writer]

And check this stat:

"In a poll conducted during the Jam, 82 per cent of those polled said they believed “virtual worlds” are a great place to learn future skills."

http://www.greenbang.com/college-kids-around-world-jam-for-sustainability_10957.html

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I'm seeing an increase in parents who grew up with virtual worlds introducing their kids to VW (sometimes in violation of terms of service, but usually with age-appropriate venues). On the flip side, boomers hitting retirement are finding VWs a good way to keep in touch with offspring who may be scattered across the country. As the tech matures and becomes more intuitive, I expect market penetration will increase substantially, although share may grow fastest with worlds that are embedded in the browser rather than stand-alone clients.

[wowgold]

I'm am not shocked about the virtual world stat. It is really common to see, heard and read some news that virtual world become our second life. For now, there are millions of users in any age become hooked in playing RPGs like World of Warcraft, visiting social networks like facebook and do other virtual world activities. As the technology continuously increase, I expect that market penetration of using virtual world become more higher and higher.