A recent study by Nielsen  caught our eye the other day.

The study (based on a sampling of 6,000 gamers ages 16-49 from over 15 countries) found the European Union to be the second largest video game market worldwide, generating billions in 2007. The UK took the lead spot with 7.3 billion (11.4 billion in US$).

Here are some of the most interesting stats from the report: 

1. The average age of a UK gamer is 33, the oldest average age from any country in the study.

This is a great find. Adults are often overlooked in game marketing and service offerings, with marketers focusing more of their attention on the often harder to reach pre-teen, teen and young adult demographic. Maybe advertisers and developers will add more appealing games for 30-ish adults to their repertoire after evaluating this stat.

2.  Forty-two percent of gamers have children and 81 percent of parents who play games do so with their children, with about half monitoring their kids intake and what they play.

Developers should definitely use this to their advantage. Imagine the possibilities—mom and child teams, father and son focused sports games and easily accessible mobile games for parents and kids. Mom can play on the console, while Timmy uses his cell to play his own version of the game.  The possibilities are endless.

3.  Around 60 percent of gamers play online. 62 percent say online play is a KEY part of their gaming experience.

Another notch for Hovr. Gamers can play all Hovr’s free games online before downloading. More companies should utilize social networking features and online play in their business models.

 4. Fifty percent of those surveyed who did not play video games said that the primary reason for
 not gaming is because they don’t have time.

We found this stat particularly compelling. The fact is, you don’t need much time to play a mobile game; that’s one of the reasons the mobile platform is so ingenious.  Its’ content is bite-sized. Waiting in the doctor’s office or sitting in your car waiting for your child to get out of school are prime examples of times when mobile games can be played—it’s all about the idle time we have throughout the day.  If advertisers and developers could figure out a way to reach the busy-bees of the world with the information that you don’t need hours on end to be entertained by a game, the mobile platform could take off even faster.

5. Finally, 30 percent of the video game market in the UK is comprised of women, ages 16-49. 

Almost every major gaming media outlet explains that women are drastically underserved in the gaming market, and developers should remember where their bread is buttered.  It’s not a very good idea to ignore a group that makes up 30 percent of your revenue. This stat from the Neilson study coincided with something Windsor Holden of Juniper Research shared with us back in March.  According to Juniper’s research, in the mobile gaming world, around 50 percent of gamers are women. Wow! Check out some of the great mobile games targeted at females on www.hovr.com. Hovr hasn’t forgotten you, ladies! Hovr offers many games with female characters and recognizes that girls love all sorts of games. In fact, action and sport games are some of the top games enjoyed by women on the Hovr site.

Thanks to the folks at Nielsen for this great study, and make sure to check back with us for the latest gaming industry news!

With mobile content slated to create billions in revenue by 2012, it’s no wonder that people in the tech industry are keeping their eyes peeled for interesting developments in the mobile games space.

Hovr has been there from the beginning, offering ad-supported free mobile games internationally. Backed by decades of mobile industry experience, the Hovr team has been busy these past few months creating new social networking features for the site, which already boasts millions of downloads.

Check out this recent article, “A Major Play for Mobile Games” that ran in the newly-launched digiGO! Magazine on the state of the mobile games industry. Hovr exec Deepak Gupta lent his expertise and explained how mobile gaming is not just a fad, but rather a phenomena that is taking the world by storm.

As you surf through the hundreds of free games at Hovr, you may come across this “PLAY NOW” button. Clicking this button launches a new page that will simulate the game on your phone, much like what you see in the window below (go ahead and play the game, it really works!).

It’s a lot like “try it before you buy it” only much better — because all the games at Hovr are FREE!