1UP.com User Study Reveals Gamers' Purchase Intent in 2006

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- 1UP.com, Ziff Davis Media Game Group's online destination for gaming enthusiasts, today announced the results of its 2006 user study. The study discloses a number of noteworthy findings, including the latest trends regarding the gaming community's media usage, its gaming habits, attitudes towards hardware ownership, and next-generation console purchase intent. In summary, hard core and casual gamers continue express a strong desire to use gaming websites and magazines in the coming year to help them make better decisions about buying hardware, games, and accessories across all platforms and brands and they plan to be very active buyers in the gaming and consumer electronics marketplace.

  Key Findings
  * 1UP.com users plan to spend an average of $245 on games in the next two
    months.
  * 77% plan to purchase a new game system in the next year, and 45% say
    they are likely to buy a portable or handheld system.
  * They are extremely loyal to brick-and-mortar videogame stores, shopping
    in stores 13 times per month.
  * Half of the respondents also shop for games online, primarily to find
    lower prices.
  * When gamers need information on gaming products, 92% of them consult
    gaming Websites, such as 1UP.com, and 62% ask friends.
  * They also rely on more specialized gaming media:  56% point to the demo
    discs included in gaming magazines such as Official U.S. PlayStation
    Magazine and Computer Gaming World.

"Gamers have grown to expect a very sophisticated media mix to help them make purchase decisions," said Scott McCarthy, President, Ziff Davis Game Group. "If you look at how much they spend on games, consoles, and electronics, it's understandable that they would demand more than just editorial reviews -- they want a social network of like-minded gamers they can consult, video podcasts they can take on the road, tie-ins to what they're reading in their gaming magazines, and online cover stories that really get inside the developers' creative processes. The 1UP Network is designed to help its 10 million monthly visitors connect more directly and candidly with game publishers so they can make the smartest purchase decisions possible."

The average 1UP.com user is a hardcore gamer, owning 57 videogames and 18 PC games and spending 21 hours per week playing videogames. Online gaming habits are getting stronger: 88% of 1UP.com users have broadband, and of the two-thirds who play games online, 41% plan to increase -- and 42% plan to maintain -- the time they spend playing online in 2006.

  Current and Future Brand Attitudes, Preferences and Purchase Intent
  * Before the 2005 holidays, 17% of 1UP.com users had already bought
    Microsoft's next-generation Xbox 360 gaming console, and among users who
    say they're likely to purchase a system in the next year, 59% of them
    plan to purchase the Xbox 360.
  * But Sony still dominates gamers' purchase intentions:  73% plan to
    purchase a Sony PlayStation 3.  Half of gamers on 1UP.com also say they
    will purchase a Nintendo Revolution.
  * Gamers on 1UP.com are also interested in both major handhelds:  36% plan
    to buy a Sony PSP, while 28% plan on buying a Nintendo DS.
  * Their software purchase intent indicates a continued deadlock between
    the Sony and Nintendo handhelds:  both Sony PSP and Nintendo DS owners
    and prospective owners (those likely to purchase one in the next year)
    say they plan to purchase four games for their respective handhelds in
    the next six months.
  * PSP owners on 1UP.com are enthusiastic about the device's multimedia
    capabilities:  94% feel that additional memory is an important feature,
    87% cite the widescreen display as important, and 76% tout the PSP's
    ability to show movies; 80% are also happy with the current selection of
    movies.
  * There is also strong opinion about the importance of being able to
    browse the web, download music, view photos, and watch TV shows on their
    PSPs.  PSP movie watchers also rely on gaming magazines (57%) and
    websites (56%) to learn about new movies and TV shows for their PSP-for
    example, nearly half of all PSP movie owners on 1UP.com say they plan to
    purchase the "Family Guy" PSP disc in the next six months.
  * Mobile phone gaming continues its expansion: seven out of ten 1UP.com
    users own a mobile phone, and a third of those owners play games on
    their phones, supporting the mobile gaming trend that has emerged in
    Ziff Davis Media Game Group's annual Digital Gaming in America studies.
  * Almost half (47%) of 1UP.com mobile gamers purchased a mobile game in
    the last two months.
  * 1UP.com users' purchase enthusiasm extends to other gaming-related
    electronics.  For example, 23% plan to purchase an HDTV in the next six
    months, confirming the high-definition trend identified by game console
    manufacturers.  A quarter of 1UP.com users already own an HDTV, and 82%
    of them own a DVD player.

  About Ziff Davis Media Game Group

Ziff Davis Media Game Group, a division of Ziff Davis Media Inc., is the largest publisher of electronic gaming magazines and websites in the United States, reaching over 17 million gamers in print and 10 million gamers online. Electronic Gaming Monthly has the highest readership of any independent gaming magazine, covering the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Revolution, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and all relevant and emerging game systems. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is the #1 publication for passionate PlayStation and PSP gamers. Computer Gaming World is the longest running and most respected publication for core PC gamers. The 1UP Network includes: 1UP.com, the online home for gamers looking for exclusive editorial content and advanced social networking; FileFront.com, the leading destination for gaming-related file downloads; and GameTab.com, the industry's most powerful game news and reviews aggregator.

About Ziff Davis Media Inc.

Ziff Davis Media is a leading integrated media company serving the technology and videogame markets. The Company is an information services provider of technology media including publications, websites, conferences, events, eSeminars, eNewsletters, custom publishing, list rentals, research and market intelligence. In the United States, the Company publishes 7 magazines including PC Magazine, eWEEK, CIO Insight, Baseline, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer Gaming World and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. The Company exports the power of its brands internationally, with publications in 43 countries and 16 languages. Ziff Davis leverages its content on the Internet with a network of highly-targeted technology and gaming sites including PCMag.com, eWEEK.com, ExtremeTech.com and 1UP.com. The Company also produces highly-targeted b-to-b and consumer technology events including DigitalLife. With its main headquarters and PC Magazine Labs based in New York, Ziff Davis Media also has offices and lab facilities in the San Francisco and Boston markets. Additional information is available at http://www.ziffdavis.com/.