While the NPD group usually focuses on video game and console unit sales, as far as their coverage of this market is concerned, they have recently released a report detailing the breakdown of gamers in the US.

The NPD Group put the total number of US gamers as high as 174 million, after comparing their known sales statistics with information gathered from 20 000 online participants. NPD breaks the gamers down into the following groups:

• Extreme Gamers: 3% @ 5.22 Million
• Avid PC Gamers: 9% @ 15.66 Million
• Console Gamers: 17% @ 29.58 Million
• Online PC Gamers: 14% @ 24.36 Million
• Offline PC Gamers: 15% @ 26.1 Million
• Young Heavy Gamers: 22% @ 38.28 Million
• Secondary Gamers: 20% @ 34.8 Million

Extreme Gamers, while making up a small segment of the market, are considered the ‘hardcore,’ having each bought 24 games in the last 3 months and playing for an average of 22 hours a week. Young Heavy Gamers on the other hand, the largest segment of the market, make up a third of the console owners and typically tend towards portable consoles, as six out of ten DS and PSP owners fit this category.

Other interesting titbits in the report reveal that over half of all Extreme Gamers buy additional downloadable content while a third of all Avid Gamers buy DLC. PlayStation 3 owners are the least likely segment to own any other current consoles (Xbox 360 and Wii) while only 10 percent of PlayStation 2 owners also own a PlayStation 3.