NPD Group, Online Gaming Sees 10% Growth Since 2009

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According to The NPD Group’s Online Gaming 2010 report released today, the average number of hours spent playing online per week has increased 10% since 2009. In addition, the number of digital downloads purchased by gamers rose for a third straight year.

…while an average of 20 percent of all games purchased by online gamers were digitally downloaded – up from 19 percent in the 2009 study and 18 percent in the 2008 study.

This news shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially since Sony is considering charging for premium PSN access and XBL continues to grow. Steam, Valve’s online gaming service, is also showing rapid growth in the PC gaming community.

Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group, stated the following:

While the percentage of the population that reports playing games has declined slightly, this study details other metrics which point to both stability and growth in both online and offline gaming.

The installed base of video game systems continues to grow, the platforms available to play games continue to expand, and the options for content acquisition have never been greater, especially online.

You can read the full details of the press release at The NPD Group’s official website here.