NPD: Freemium Game User Survey

NPD's latest report shows that 40% of users who have played free-to-play games with upgrades have paid to enhance their gaming experience.

The report surveyed more than 6,000 individual users, including children and women. The results showed that women like to play free-to-play games more than men, but are less willing to spend money than the latter.

38% of the U.S. population plays freemium games, and most of these users pay for virtual items in a game within the first month of playing it.

Only 15% of players who are already aware of freemium games will not continue to play them, while a whopping 84% of players who try them will subsequently become addicted.

Female users are more likely to continue playing games after their first experience, while male users aged 13-34 are most likely to give up on such games after the first try (the report states that male users in this age group are mostly hardcore gamers, so they have a lower stickiness for freemium games).

Source: GameBang