According to a new study from the NPD Group, 72 percent of the entire North American population played a game in 2007, up from 8 percent the previous year. Furthermore, around 50 percent of these gamers have at some point played a game online.
The NPD study found the PC to be the most dominate platform in online gaming, noting that 90 percent of online gamers surveyed use a PC to play games online. Only 19 percent use a console to game online, while 3 percent use a mobile cell phone.
Delving deeper into the statistics of console online gaming, the study showed that 50 percent use their Xbox 360 to play online. The PC may be the most widely used platform for online gaming, but Xbox 360 owners actually spend the most time playing online each week, according to the study.
NPD said that 20,240 individuals were surveyed for the study.