Well no shit, it took them this long to figure it out? But anyway, here’s the full article. It’s from the folks who still haven’t realized that DVRs have impacted viewing habits:

LOS ANGELES, April 7 /PRNewswire/ — How are the demographics of gamers
evolving, how much do they spend each month on games and competitive
entertainment media, what platforms and genres do they prefer, what motivates
a purchase of new platforms such as the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP or next
generation hardware like Xbox2 and PS3, and what sources of information drive
awareness are among the questions answered in an industry-first benchmark
report, the first installment of this bi-annual study being released today by
Nielsen Entertainment’s Interactive Group.

    Among the key findings, evidence that:

     * Gamers are growing beyond the traditional 8-34 year-old male target;
     * Women, Hispanics and African-Americans are an underserved and emerging
       market for interactive entertainment;
     * For males, spending on games has become the 2nd ranked purchased
       category behind DVDs and in front of CDs, MP3 and music purchases;
     * Women and older adults are playing games in increasing numbers;
     * Graphics dominate as a significant motivation for purchase of specific
       titles and next generation hardware;
     * There is a strong connection between DVD and game consumption to be
       exploited in marketing and cross-promotion;
     * While Caucasians report spending the most money per month on DVDs,
       African-Americans and Hispanics report spending more money per month on
       games and mobile services.

    Andy Wing, CEO of Nielsen Entertainment said, “As interactive
entertainment aims to take a more central place in the ecology of the living
room, we will continue to monitor consumer awareness and purchase interest of
next-generation consoles, and more broadly, the ways in which all consumers
are responding to competing forums for their leisure time.”
    The report is a first for the interactive entertainment space, a medium
which has flourished among the young male demographic and has until today,
been guided more by instinct and technology than empirical data. The results
of this first study and the forthcoming second installment in Q3′05 will
assist developers, marketers and interactive entertainment sales executives in
strategy and planning decisions, in addition to providing the entertainment
industry more broadly with a clear picture of video games today and their
potential as a thriving entertainment medium in the not so distant future.

    Highlights From Video Game Industry Benchmark Report
    The Benchmark report found that nearly 40% of U.S. households own at least
one of the following game systems for game play — PC, home console or
handheld device. In terms of cross ownership, the study found that 23% of
gamers own all three types of gaming devices — PC, console and handheld;
among those who own a gaming device, 89% own a console, 65% own a PC, 36% own
a handheld, Among the respondents who own Playstation 2 (PS2), Xbox or
Nintendo GameCube — 8% own all three popular consoles. The report found that
among those who own one of these three consoles, 57% own a PS2, 39% own an
Xbox and 27% own a GameCube.
    Results from the report suggest that the use of video games as an
entertainment option is directly correlated to overall leisure time
availability: younger gamers reporting the most leisure time and are the most
likely to play games. The Benchmark report also found that 39% of gamers are
female and that nearly 24% of all gamers are over the age of 40.
    “While this reinforces the industry’s traditional targeting towards these
groups, women between the ages of 18 to 24 show relatively high entertainment
expenditure and time availability, suggesting there are opportunities for
publishers to target this consumer,” said Emily Della Maggiora, Vice President
of Nielsen Interactive Entertainment. “African American and Hispanic gamers
appear to be a potentially lucrative (and currently under-served) consumer
target for publishers as these gamers are spending more money to purchase
games and more time to play them compared to total gamers, in general.”
    Overall, active gamers typically spend approximately 5.2 hours playing by
themselves with a large proportion also being spent playing socially (3.07
hours per week with friends and family or online). Among females, the split
between solo and social game play is even more equitable with younger females
13-17 tending to play more with friends or family (54% of the time) and women
25-34 playing almost as much socially as alone. Males and females 45 and older
are markedly different, spending almost all their time (79%) playing alone.
Interestingly, platform-based analysis shows significant variation which is
reflective of Xbox’s emphasis on online game play and multiplayer games. Those
from the study that prefer playing on an Xbox spend as much time playing with
friends and family/online as they do alone (5.49 hours vs. 5.36 hours,
respectively).
    The Benchmark report explored consumer sentiment towards future next
generation devices such as ‘Xbox 2/Xenon’ and the ‘PS3′ home consoles. The
report found that at this point in time consumer response to next generation
consoles is lukewarm and only minimally heightened by decreasing price. Active
gamers who do express some interest in purchasing one of the next generations
consoles indicate that they are more likely to wait some time after release
before purchasing the system. Also important to note is that among the current
consoles, Xbox holds up slightly better than PS2 in retaining consumer
loyalty.
    NIE plans to field its next study in August with results available in
September 2005.

    Methodology
    Through a random digital dial frame (RDD) of over 1500 respondents –
collected in January and February 2005 — the 80-page report delivers key
information on:

     * Gamer demographics
     * Penetration figures for PC, console and handheld games
     * Cross ownership
     * Purchase behavior along with rental and usage behavior
     * Purchase motivators
     * Attitudes towards next generation hardware

    The report also includes special analyses on mobile phone related
entertainment, 2004 holiday purchase insights, and high potential consumer
targets as mentioned above, particularly Female, African-American and Hispanic
gamers.

    About Nielsen Entertainment
    Through custom research, consulting and the world’s most comprehensive
network of entertainment measurement systems and analysis, Nielsen
Entertainment delivers Actionable Entertainment Intelligence to clients
engaged in the business of selling entertainment and trading in the
marketplace of our popular culture.
    Nielsen Entertainment’s AEI products give clients unrivaled perspective
from which to steer business decisions, providing the measure and t
he
motivation in one package; comparing what the consumer says they do and what
they actually do, in any given environment including film, television, music,
books, and interactive media.
    Nielsen Entertainment is comprised of the following businesses: National
Research Group (NRG), EDI and EDI International, Television Services,
SoundScan, Broadcast Data Systems, Aircheck, Music Control, VideoScan, Market
Navigator, BookScan, BookData, and Interactive Entertainment, and utilizes the
full portfolio of sister companies including Nielsen Media Research
(television ratings) and Nielsen Net Ratings (internet usage) to deliver a
whole media point of view. Nielsen Entertainment is part of VNU,
http://www.vnu.com, and a global leader in information services for the media
and entertainment industries.