Nearly all of our respondents say they play video games regularly, with most logging in between a half hour and two hours of game time each day. The majority got hooked on N64 or Game Boy at around age four or five, and most have since moved on to PlayStation 2.
When it comes to hardware purchasing decisions, brand loyalty doesn't mean squat to this demo. Kids are all about the newest, coolest capabilities, and Game Boy Advance SP is what they're currently salivating over. The newest handheld platform from Nintendo, which made its North American debut on March 23 and retails for around US$99.95, features a flip screen that cuts the physical size of the system in half and an illumination feature that facilitates nighttime play. Our panelists were really drawn to the idea of being able to play anywhere, anytime.
As far as consoles go, the PS2s that currently dominate the market are generally housed in either the living room or the kids' bedrooms, and nearly half of the Reactorz kids say gaming is a family activity that involves parents (mostly dads) and siblings in their homes.
Although kids don't tend to buy their own consoles, they will shell out their own pocket money for games, usually picking up one to three titles a year themselves and then swapping with friends for variety. Friends exert the strongest influence on video game purchase decisions, with TV marketing also playing a vital role in letting kids know about new products. Only as kids enter the teen years do they start to visit online videogame communities and read the gamer magazines. These are avid gamer activities that most kids either don't have time for or are prevented from participating in because of parent rules against online communities.
Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City topped most kids' Christmas wishlists in Q4 2002, but now their fave titles have diversified and split along gender lines. Boys are into Halo (Bungie Studios), SSX Tricky (EA), James Bond 007: NightFire (EA) and NHL 2003 (EA), while girls say they prefer adventure or role playing titles like Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo), Sonic Advance (Sega/THQ), Star Fox Adventure (Rare) and The Sims series (EA). Another interesting gender-related note is that all of the respondents who said they don't play video games were girls, and they cited reasons such as not having enough time and/or money and not liking the available titles or gameplay genres as reasons for not glomming on. As the kids get older though gameplay does develop a very clear gender split with more girls than boys dropping off to spend their free time with other activities.
Parents keep a very watchful eye on their kids' video game habits, often test-driving a game that's rated E for Everyone or T for Teen themselves before deeming it kid-appropriate. They also set firm rules that govern game play. Video games are not allowed to interfere with homework, chores, and sleep; kids are not allowed to play if they act like sore losers; and sitting too close to the screen is also forbidden. The Reactorz parent panelists say they work hard to encourage their kids to experience a variety of activities other than video games, and they would definitely ban a game if they found it affected their kids in a negative way.
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Insight: There is no hardware or software brand loyalty with kids; they will switch to whatever is the latest, coolest platform or game. Marketers need to keep in mind the prominent role that parents play as platform purchasers and gatekeepers who pretest games and monitor behavior. And girls represent an untapped market.
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For more information:
Note to our non-Canadian readers: These resources are all Canadian based but there will be similar resources in your jurisdiction. As the readership of Reactorz Reaction grows it becomes harder for us to provide resources aimed at the jurisdiction of all of our readers. We hope these resources provide you with some ideas of what may be available where you are.
- For an interesting article on the affect of violent videogames on kids read the Seattle Times article "No Video Game Can Make Someone Violent" which also quotes statistics on parents existing involvement in most kids video game play.
- For video game reviews, industry news, discussion boards and "cheats" visit IGN.com.
- For more on the new Gameboy Advance SP read the corporate press release on the Nintendo site and for detail on the Playstation 2 visit the Sony Playstation site.
- To better understand the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) ratings which are becoming industry standard and view some of the ratings visit the ESRB site.
To find out more about Reactorz contact us online at www.reactorzresearch.com. Or call 416-516-0705.
Reactorz is a youth-powered research engine. Our online community of kids ages 7 to 22 provide their opinion and insight into current events, issues, creative & product design, entertainment and communications strategies. Reactorz parent company Big Orbit gathers this information and empowers clients by connecting them with this target group through strategic consulting and creative development. For over a decade, Big Orbit has worked with corporate, government and non-profit organizations such as: Kraft Canada, Junior Achievement of Canada, Concerned Children's Advertisers and Key Porter Books. For a complete list of clients and case studies please visit BigOrbit.com or ReactorzResearch.com.
