Videogaming247 has a new NPD Group report that identifies an "Extreme Gamers" segment of the market that is certainly pretty hardcore, saying 3% of gamers fit into a category that purchases about eight games a month, and spends 45 hours a week gaming (though later in the report this number seems to be listed as 22.3 hours). The article, based on data collected through January, also reflects on platform preferences: "According to the report, while the PC is used more than any single console for gaming, Console Gamers, Young Heavy Gamers and Extreme Gamers are more likely to use consoles than a PC to play video games." Here's a bit more from the report, which offers some interesting correlations:

Amongst next-generation console owners, PlayStation 3 owners are most likely to own other next-generation consoles compared to Wii and Xbox 360 owners. While 45 percent of PlayStation Portable owners also own a Nintendo DS, only 21 percent of Nintendo DS owners also own a PlayStation Portable. Only 10% of PlayStation 2 owners also own the PlayStation 3.

Both Console Gamers and Extreme Gamers dominate when it comes to the number of hours spent playing video games per week, with an average of 8.2 hours per week and 22.3 hours per week, respectively.

When it comes to purchasing power, Extreme Gamers lead all segments, buying nearly 24 titles across all their systems in the past three months. This is over seven times more than the second leading purchasing segment, Console Gamers, who on average purchased only 3.2 games in the past three months.