34 million core gamers spend 22 hours per week playing video games | Key4Communications |

There are 34 million core gamers in the U.S. spending an average of 22 hours per week playing video games, according to Core Gaming 2014, a report by The NPD Group.

These 34 million core gamers, defined for this report as those individuals who play video games five or more hours a week on a console or computer playing with any kind of video game.

“Core gamers are really the lifeblood of the industry, spending tremendous amounts of time on their hobby of choice,” said Liam Callahan, Industry Analyst. “With the new console generation off to a great start, we can expect the amount of time spent gaming to increase as more core gamers adopt them.”

While core gamers are most likely to play on consoles and computers simply based on the definition of the core gamer, phones and mobile devices are also a popular method of play by two-thirds of these gamers. Multiplayer gaming also plays a significant role within the core ecosystem, with close to 70% of core gamers playing multiplayer games either regularly or occasionally.

When given a choice in game format, 74% claim they would opt for the physical format over digital if the price was the same. However, the preference for digital is still on the move, up 5% points from 21% to 26% this year.