Echoing studies that have preceded it, Nielsen Entertainment (a division of VNU, the same organization that organizes and produces E3 for the Entertainment Software Association) today checked in with its own data concerning consumer buying habits in the area of interactive entertainment.

Hoping to chart the evolution of gamers--to find out who plays games, games' relative importance to consumers compared to other forms of digital entertainment, preferences toward the major brands of home consoles--the Nielsen study was derived from surveys sent to more than 1,500 randomly selected consumers of all ages and genders.

As if the industry needed reminding, the statistics indicated the following:

* Gamers are growing beyond the traditional 8- to 34-year-old male
* Women, Hispanics, and African-Americans are an underserved and emerging market for games
* Men spend more on games than they do on music purchases, but less than what they spend on DVDs
* Women and older adults are playing games in increasing numbers.

The study, conducted by the same Nielsen division working with Activision and Massive to measure consumer awareness of in-game ads, was designed from the outset with game-industry professionals in mind.

To that end, Nielsen says the data is designed to "assist developers, marketers, and interactive entertainment sales executives in strategy and planning decisions," as well as "provide the entertainment industry with a clear picture of video games today and their potential as a thriving entertainment medium."

Other highlights of the study found that almost 40 percent of US households own at least one game system, be it a PC, game console, or handheld game device. The study found that 23 percent of respondents own all three.

Of those who own game devices, 89 percent own a console, 65 percent own a PC, and 36 percent own a handheld. The platform split among console owners was PlayStation 2 at 57 percent, Xbox at 39 percent, and GameCube at 27 percent. Eight percent of console owners own all three systems.

The survey reported that 39 percent of those who play games are female, and gamers over the age of 40 represented 24 percent of respondents who played games.

The study found opportunities for publishers who seek to expand into untapped markets. "Women between the ages of 18 to 24 show relatively high entertainment expenditure and time availability, suggesting there are opportunities for publishers to target this consumer," said Emily Della Maggiora, vice president of Nielsen Interactive Entertainment.

She added that African-American and Hispanic gamers also hold out prospects of profit for the industry. Those groups "appear to be an underserved consumer target for publishers as these gamers are spending more money to purchase games and more time to play them compared to total gamers, in general."

Looking at what level of interest consumers have toward the next-generation consoles, the study found that "at this point in time, consumer response to next generation consoles is lukewarm." The study found most respondents had a wait-and-see attitude and were not likely to be among the early adopters who buy at a system's launch. Interestingly, the Xbox outranked the PlayStation 2 in the area of ability to "retain consumer loyalty."

The study released today represents the first half of the Video Gaming Industry Benchmark Report. The second half of the study is due to be released in August.