Segment 1:  6-21 Year Olds

This segment accounts for about half the market by volume. The first expensive gift that a pre-ten-year-old is likely to receive is a video game console.  Hours spent in front of the screen give hard-working caregivers relief from having to provide constant supervision.

As this segment ages, it enjoys video gaming as a way to escape from teenage and post-teenage relationship and development issues.  They mostly live at home and the video gaming world is a world to which they can escape and over which they feel they have control.  If anyone within the gaming world behaves aggressively towards them, they can be defeated or blasted to eternity!

These gamers can take on the persona of the people they play in the game, for as long as the game endures.  Although they may not always win, they win in the end.  They have the free time and the drive to progress through all of the avenues and challenges that a game offers.  While this segment used to be dominated by boys, the gender split is fast approaching 50:50.

For this segment, price is the most important purchase driver.  It may take them or their parents a while to save up to buy a video gaming console.  Alternatively, they may have to wait for their birthdays or another celebratory holiday before they receive a gaming console.  They will avidly shop and be aware of the best deals.  They usually buy the basic ‘bundled’ package, which may include one or two free games.   

The sophistication of the game is important but not paramount.  This segment also likes to play online, where the lack of sophisticated games requiring high speed processors does not interfere with the quality of their gaming experience.   The same applies to the graphics sophistication.  Often they are viewing the game on older generation televisions (family cast-offs).  As long as they can see what they are doing, they are fine, regardless of how small or blurry the screen might be.  Even though the world they view may not be a close representation of reality, it is a big step up from children’s story books where the characters do not move and where there are no sound effects.

The controller is a different matter.  Long before they are able to drive a motor vehicle, these players enjoy developing the reflex reactions of jet pilots.  Mastering the complexity of the controllers is a right of passage which, when achieved, denotes assured status within their peer group.  They are not daunted by sophisticated controllers and they enjoy developing the skill to master them.  Unlike the next segment which has more money, this segment does not usually opt for wireless controllers or sophisticated haptic devices.

Audio sophistication is not a strong need for this group.  Since they live at home, they cannot make too much noise without disturbing others in the house (parents or younger siblings).

Internet connectivity is important to this segment, as well as the ability to play DVDs.  They are fairly interested in the console being a CD player as well (linked to an MP3 player), but not really for it to have a hard drive for streaming movies off of the internet, or for it to be able to play HD (high definition) videos.

When things go wrong with the controller or with a game, or if they have questions, this segment mainly consults their friends.  In fact, they are very well-informed and well-networked players.  The main source of knowledge is typically that of older siblings.  A new piece of data travels very quickly through this highly interconnected segment.  They do appreciate online help, but are quite relaxed about how long it takes to receive a response.  In the meantime, they have the patience to try and sort out the problem themselves or to seek help from their friends.

The online gaming experience is fairly important to this group.  They may be ‘latch-key’ kids or from families where they are the only child (a growing trend in the developed world) and so the availability of many ‘friends’ in cyberspace is appealing.  After school, they enjoy ‘meeting’ their friends in a virtual gaming world and using the messaging capability to send joking messages.  The internet games they play are available for free or for a nominal monthly fee that is usually well within their financial allowance.