The latest NPD Group latest study, dubbed "Online Gaming 2008", revealed that 72% of the American population played videogames in 2007, but only 42% of them (the total population) played any multiplayer games at all.
Both numbers are an increase from last year's 64% of Americans playing videogames and 40% playing online.
90% of gamers who played online said that PC was their platform of choice, compared to 19% for all other consoles and handhelds combined. Mobile phones came last in online play with a 3% share. Half of the consoles' 19% is attributed single handedly to Xbox 360 which also saw the most time spent online per week across all platforms including PC.
The study also found out that 40 percent of online gamers were between 2 and 17 years old, but that 18-24 year olds only made up 10 percent.
Perhaps the most interesting find was the fact that only 3% of respondents said they owned two of the three next-gen consoles, and only 2% said they owned all three.
NPD analyst Anita Frazier concluded that "Despite the buzz in the industry regarding online gaming, it is still relatively small compared to offline gaming. There is still a large, untapped market for gaming in general and online gaming in particular."
