Research: 3D TVs, iPads Reach ‘Hype Cycle’ Peak

Industry expectations over 3D home entertainment and media tablets such as Apple’s iPad are approaching their respective peaks, according to a new “hype cycle” forecast by marketing research firm Gartner.

The forecast (via CNET) plots the emerging technologies — along with a host of others, such as private cloud computing — on a modified sine wave curve of industry expectations over time. After reaching the “peak of inflated expectations,” new technologies are generally cast into a “trough of disillusionment” from both consumers and prospective industry participants before ascending a “slope of enlightenment” and prospering on a “plateau of productivity,” Gartner says.

Technologies generally survive the correction of expectations; Gartner estimates both 3D home displays and media tablets are two to five years away from mass adoption.

More on the research firm’s methodology here.

U.S. Digital Entertainment Market to Hit $233 Billion by 2013

A report by research firm In-Stat concludes the value of the home digital entertainment market in the United States will total $233 billion by 2013. As a result the various sectors of the digital entertainment ecosystem — device manufacturers and retailers, content producers and service providers — are taking different approaches to mold the future to its advantage. By Home Media Magazine

Owners Love Their E-Readers: NPD

E-readers are a hit, or rather 93 percent of owners surveyed by research company, The NPD Group, say they are “very satisfied” with their device. Only 2 percent of buyers reported being dissatisfied, according to the research firm. By CNET

Activision Research: Parents Pay Attention To Game Ratings

Some 63% of parents with children who play videogames consider themselves gamers, with the number increasing to 83% for parents age 35 and younger, according to an Activision Publishing survey conducted by The Harrison Group. Additionally, 70% of parents say they pay close attention to videogame ratings when purchasing a title for themselves or their families. Via PR Newswire

Kids Still Heavily Reliant On Packaged Media For Entertainment

For every dollar that kids spend on entertainment content, 85 cents go toward physical products, with the balance going to digital media, according to new research from the NPD Group.

More than three quarters of kids ages 2-14 (79%) have acquired some form of physical or digital content in the past year, with 31% acquiring both physical and digital content. But kids generally turn to digital media when they want to supplement their physical collections, says NPD, which adds that less than 1% of kids acquired only digital content in the past year.

Video rental services and online music services were the top content-based household services or subscriptions used by kids ages 2-14 in the past year, with 19% of kids using an in-store video rental service, 12% using an online video rental service, and 14% using an online music service.   Paid subscriptions to online video game rental services and paid subscriptions to online gaming websites ranked among the lowest.

Forty-one percent of kids who own some form of digital content say music was the first type of content they download, with 38% saying it’s game downloads. The average age at which kids make their first digital acquisition is 7 years old.

“Forty-three percent of digital downloaders were six years old or younger when they acquired their first digital content,” says NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “Since parents are the first touch point for children this age, it is important for companies to develop marketing strategies that reach parents as well as kids.”

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