Portable Devices Primarily Enjoyed in the Home

New research by NPD Group reveals that 79 percent of portable gamers use their devices in the home more than any location.

It’s happened to the best of us. Be it the nagging sibling or the friend who just doesn’t understand your cut throat raid schedule, just about every gaming enthusiast has heard those dreaded words, “You should get out more.” It turns out that maybe — just maybe, they were right.

According to NPD Group’s latest research utilizing a pool of over 3,200 owners of portable gaming devices, a whopping 79 percent use their devices primarily in the home. With the usage of iPhone, Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable on the rise compared to their previous research, the report indicates that portable gaming may be competing with home consoles for stationary entertainment.

NPD Group also shared some of the more interesting statistics found in their research regarding the individual usage of portable devices. Ninety-two percent of Nintendo DS users, for example, are playing games all by their lonesome despite Nnintendo’s portable being one of the most user friendly multiplayer devices around. Only close to a quarter of those surveyed with a Nintendo DS take part in multiplayer games.

Apple’s iPhone continues to not only eat up market share (it recently became the most popular cell phone in the US), but free time as well. Over 30 percent of iPhone users are using all of the available features, outside of watching movies (19 percent) and business related applications (14 percent). Over the last three months, the greatest increase of usage amongst iPhone users was in playing games, which is bound to make venture capitalists investing in iPhone developers very, very happy.