Nielsen has released the latest 360° Gaming Report that shows a 12 percent increase in the time spent gaming in US households, with significant increases for tablets.
Figures for 2013 showing an average of 6.3 hours weekly across platforms for players aged 13 and older, up from 5.6 hours in 2012.
This time is spent across platforms, with 50 percent of respondents indicating use of mobile and tablets for gaming, up from just 35 percent in 2011.
Mobile leaps, PC falters
While the market share of gaming-dedicated handhelds has remained stable at 6 percent, mobile and tablets come in at 19 percent: a 6 percent increase on 2012 figures, and a 10 percent uptick on figures for 2011.
The increased uptake of mobile as a gaming platform, mirrors the 6 percent decline in PC gaming habits, and runs in conjunction with stable figures for consoles. However, the report notes, "the introduction of new platforms isn’t cannibalizing gaming time. Rather, it’s strengthening gamer engagement."
Speaking about the figures, Nielsen Director Nicola Pike sees a bright future for time spent gaming. "With […] 8th generation consoles still in their infancy, in addition to up-and-coming platforms such as microconsoles and cloud gaming gaining momentum, gaming time is poised to continue evolving moving forward," she said.
[source: Nielsen]