21m UK people play games, says ISFE

37 per cent of the UK population has played a game in the last 12 months.

That’s according to Ian Bramley, senior director of Ipsos Media, who today shared some key insights into the reports his firm is now compiling for the Interactive Software Federation of Europe.

This morning, the ISFE unveiled the new GameTrack data it has commissions Ipsos to produce.

The reports claim to be the most detailed and comprehensive view of the market, including every platform and kind of game out there.

Including the stat in our headline, Bramley offered up example insights from what the GameTrack research is discovering, including:

– In the UK, 37 per cent played games in the last 12 months. That’s 21m people.

– In France, it’s 50 per cent of the population. Or 29m.

– In Germany, it’s 40 per cent, or 31m.

– Almost 90 per cent of 11-year-olds across Europe play video games in some form.

– Just over 40 per cent of 6- to 10-year-olds re playing apps. The margin drops considerably through the age demographic, down to just over over 10 per cent for consumers aged 45 or older.

– Almost 25 per cent of 11- to 14-year-olds in UK play games on social networks.

– In UK, only five per cent of people say they play games on apps, online AND packaged. In the UK there is a huge contingent that only plays packaged goods.

– 68 per cent of UK kids play packaged goods games. 65 per cent play online games. 43 per cent play apps. 31 per cent play all three. So the child gaming audience is much more converged than the five per cent average detailed above.

– In the UK, 25 per cent of the population plays games on PC or Mac. 25 per cent play on console, too. Smartphones and iPods, although ISFE didn’t give the figures, are ahead of dedicated games portables and tablets by a big margin.

– But in the UK in terms of value, the majority of revenue – likely around 80 per cent – is driven by packaged goods. So while alternative channels are popular, they aren’t necessarily profitable.

– Pre-owned is 16 per cent of the UK market. It’s 18 per cent in France.

– Half of the games played in the UK during Q1 2012 were apps.

– Angry Birds was the UK’s most popular game in Q1 2012. It had 10 per cent of the total market.

– 20 per cent of the total time dedicated to playing games in France is dedicated to social games.