NPD: 72% of US played games in '07, online gaming still 'small'

NPD's new "Online Gaming 2008" report states that 72% of people in the US played games in 2007, up from 64% in 2006 (although the quantity of play isn't defined) and half these people say they play online. The PC was the dominant platform for 90% of online gamers, consoles came in with 19% and the humble cell phone with 3%. Of the console owners, 50% said they used Xbox Live and the data showed they spent the most time playing online per week (followed by PC and PS3). The survey was conducted using a sample of 20,240 members of the NPD Consumer Panel.

Overall though, NPD's data shows online gaming is still "small compared to offline gaming." Only 13% of online gamers spend 20 hours or more per week playing. Online gaming is also currently driven by kids, with 40% of online gamers being under the age of 18. Interestingly, according to NPD's data, multiple console ownership in the US is very low. Only 3% of respondents said they owned two current gen consoles (yes, that includes Wii), while only 2% owned all three.