NPD: 29% Of U.S. Game Sales Were Digital In Last Three Months

An average of 29 percent of games acquired in the past three months in the U.S. were obtained digitally, as consumers have ever more ways to download game content, according to a recent survey from market research firm NPD Group. The remaining 71 percent of games acquired in the past three months were physical games, said NPD's Games Purchase Drivers 2010 report, which polled 3,700 members of NPD's Online Panel, ages two and up (responses from children under 13 were communicated by a parent). The firm said 47 percent of digital game buyers used game-centric download sites like BigFishGames and Valve's Steampowered.com, making such destinations the "most-used source of acquisition" for digital games. But PC games weren't the only growth contributor. NPD said 42 percent of digital purchasers bought games through app stores or cell phone carriers. Thirty percent of buyers bought digital games through console and handheld services like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. One in five buyers surveyed said they bought add-on content for games in the past three months. Digital game "acquisitions" in the survey included games a person purchased, purchased with a gift or points card or received from another person who purchased it for them, NPD noted.