New York - Playing video games is a favorite activity within the Brazilian population, with 82 percent of those within the 13-59 age range gaming on at least one device, according to Brazil Gaming 2015, the latest report from global information company The NPD Group. While teenagers are more likely than adults to be gaming, 65 percent of Brazilians ages 45-59 are also playing video games.
Among the three main gaming platforms – consoles, computers, and mobile devices – gaming is almost equally dispersed, with about half of the 13-59 population gaming on each platform. By device, the top two individual devices are the PC (47 percent) and the Android Smartphone (38 percent).
Overall, Brazilian gamers play on an average of 2.6 devices. When asked to choose a primary device, consoles are more likely to be chosen, followed by computers, mobile devices, and portables. In terms of time spent playing games, they play an average of 15 hours per week across all of their devices, with teens spending the most time (19 hours).
And these gamers are spending more time gaming this year than they did last year. This is seen across all the devices used for gameplay, but is most evident among 8th generation consoles.
Most Brazilians who play video games enjoy playing both physical and digital formats. Only 15 percent claim to be physical format only players, but regardless of their format and platform preferences, Brazilian gamers aren’t against paying for their gaming experiences. Free games may be the most popular among digital and mobile device players, but purchasing games and additional content is prevalent in Brazil. Players of both formats were likely to have made some sort of purchase in the past three months, with close to two-thirds of gamers claiming to have purchased some sort of additional content over this time period.
“Brazil is clearly an emerging gaming market, one that is rife with potential for even further growth,” said Liam Callahan, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Understanding this market is crucial as international markets become an essential part of any product rollout.”
Alternative markets in Brazil, including retail and online sales from other countries, as well as black market sales, provide a multitude of options for both software and hardware acquisition. While Brazilian gamers are still most likely to utilize the formal market for their purchasing needs, these alternative markets are taking a significant piece of the gaming pie.
Seven out of 10 gamers who play physical games indicate that they often purchase their games on disc from the Brazilian market, with few of these gamers claiming to have completely rejected the alternative markets. When thinking about their purchasing in a typical year, gamers estimate that 62 percent of their games come from the formal market, while 38 percent comes from alternative markets such as purchasing outside of Brazil and the black market.
