47 Million Played PC Games in October

According to Jupiter Media Metrix, if you're a PC gamer, you're not alone. You probably already knew that, but you might be interested in just how large your peer group is. This week, the research company reported that 46.7 million wired computer users at home in the U.S. played a PC-based game application in October 2001, up 10 percent from 42.4 million users in January 2001. While the number of people who used PC game applications increased, the percentage of PC gamers among all computer users decreased slightly, from 52 percent in January 2001 to 48 percent in October 2001. Jupiter also reported that 45 percent of U.S. consumers who own a video game system intend to purchase a new game console or handheld game device this holiday season. The firm's analysts forecast that, although the number of households owning a gaming console connected to the Internet will increase to 12.3 million by 2006 (up from 700,000 households in 2000), online PC games will continue to account for the lion's share of gaming subscription revenue. Jupiter projects that subscription revenues from online PC games will total 1.5 billion dollars by 2006, while subscription revenues from connected console gaming will only reach 250 million dollars in the same period.

In the PC arena, freebie bundled games turned out to be the most popular, with Windows-bundled Solitaire number one with 21.3 million users in October 2001 and Freecell number two with 14.8 million users. According to the survey, the most popular store-bought titles are Maxis' The Sims with 1.6 million users, Microsoft's Age of Empires with 805,000 users in October 2001, Blizzard's Diablo II with 624,000 users, and Westwood's Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun with 563,000 users. Approximately 60,000 people throughout the U.S. participated survey. While I certainly trust math heads, my own head starts to spin a little when I wonder how you can accurately extrapolate 46.7 million from a relatively small sample group.