NPD: Only 6% of US console users have downloaded DLC

Tuesday, 28th September 2010 20:32 GMT By Stephany Nunneley



The Market Research firm also estimated that 75 percent of US consumers aged 13 and up didn’t connect their consoles or download content in the past three months, with only 15 percent of consumers with either a PC or Mac being connected or downloading digital content. Research found only 4 percent downloaded content through a smartphone during the same time period, and only 2 percent through an internet capable device such as Apple TV, Blu-ray, or Roku,

“What we learned in our research is that while some people already experience the world in a connected way, most do not,” said NPD VP and senior entertainment analyst Russ Crupnick, adding most consumers still use their devices mainly for email, surfing the web, and other basic actions.

“The promise of the connected experience is coming, as prospective Blu-ray owners want their players to come with connectivity, and half of game consoles are already connected. The doors are also opening wider for music, video, gaming and other forms of entertainment,” said Crupnick.

“Today’s gamer might be a hard-core teenager playing games online with his friends, a 40-something female playing Farmville on Facebook, or everything on either side of that spectrum,” added NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “We would not have seen this type of audience diversification and expansion if it weren’t for connected internet, smartphone, and online gaming options.”

NPD also said prices for Blu-rays players are continuing to drop, and are the “prime avenue” for delivering broadband content to living rooms.

According to the firm, videogames are the main reason behind digital growth, with dual-purpose services like Nintendo’s Wi-Fi, PSN, and XBL growing in popularity with gamers and non-gamers alike.

Connected TVs, according to NPD, are also starting to grow in popularity in the US.

Via Gamasutra.

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    I can’t be bothered to read all that, but it doesn’t seem right to me…

    #1 4 years ago
  2. LOLshock94

    sure it aint 60%

    #2 4 years ago
  3. EscoBlades

    That number HAS to be wrong….

    #3 4 years ago
  4. theevilaires

    has to be I’m sure of it too.

    #4 4 years ago
  5. freedoms_stain

    I conclude that they did a large part of their research in Amish communities.

    #5 4 years ago
  6. jeremycafe


    #6 4 years ago
  7. Stephany Nunneley

    The thing is, you have to also have the number of actual connected consoles in the US. A lot of rural areas still only have dial up, or satellite for their internet needs. I barely made the cut-off line myself on DSL.

    #7 4 years ago
  8. Quiiick

    Thank God it’s only 6%!
    Hopefully in Europe it’s even less. \o/

    Don’t buy DLC, ever!

    Force publishers/developers to do proper sequels and/or new IPs by not buying this overpriced crap called DLC.

    #8 4 years ago
  9. The1stMJC

    6% doesn’t seem right because than there wouldn’t be a smart move for Devs to put effort into the amount of DLC we have today. They amount of profit would be too low to bother

    #9 4 years ago
  10. cookiejar

    I bet 5% of those are those nasty little things…’map packs’.

    #10 4 years ago
  11. lexph3re

    This sounds right, take into account more then just gaming consoles. And take every phone sold every ps3 every wii every 360 every pcand consider all the people on the planet being well over a billion. 6% would seem accurate. There are 47mil 360s, 37.9ps3s, and well over 110mil wiis. That’s sales worldwide too. I know I have. Extensive times offline on my ps3 due to internet so no surprise other people go through. The same. Ps. I hate my phone right now! Blasted keypad!

    #11 4 years ago
  12. The_Red

    “proving there’s a “large and untapped” market for digital content along with connected devices.”


    People don’t want to pay for the content that should have already been with the retail package that cost them 60 bucks.

    #12 4 years ago
  13. Psychotext

    Assuming they’re talking about home consoles in the US, we’re looking at a total of 65m machines. Assume there’s a reasonable amount of multi machine ownership and lets say there’s 50m owners (plus it makes the maths easy).

    6% of 50m is 3 million. Not a chance in hell just 3m console owners in the US have bought DLC. Stimulus package did 3.5m in its first week… now admittedly that was worldwide, but we can be pretty certain that a significant proportion of that was in the US. That’s just the first week, I’d wager it’s done a lot more since.

    For the 3m number to be true we’d pretty much have to assume that those MW2 buyers are the same ones buying Forza DLC, or Halo DLC, or LBP DLC or Warhawk DLC… and so on.

    Not a chance in hell. I’d say there’s an issue with their survey methodology / targets.

    #13 4 years ago
  14. Unlimax

    Yup .. that’s right !

    i think DLC’s not a Big deal for us .. hopefully our companys will deal with free stuff .. at least few.

    #14 4 years ago