Nielsen's List of Most Played Consoles of 2008

[The 1 2 P]

Atleast one of the top four will surprise some, just not me: http://play.tm/wire/click/2298586/

Video Game Console Usage
PlayStation 2 - 31.7% Usage Minutes
Xbox 360 - 17.2% Usage Minutes
Wii - 13.4% Usage Minutes
Xbox - 9.7% Usage Minutes
PlayStation 3 - 7.3% Usage Minutes
GameCube - 4.6% Usage Minutes
Other - 16.2% Usage Minutes

Data from Jan - Oct 2008. Usage Minutes % is the percent of all measured console minutes. 'Other' consists of any other console systems found in the home.

[Nebagram]

Not surprised PS2's still top, that thing was so pervasive it'll be around for decades. Xbox is a bit of a surprise but as (I'm assuming) we're talking North America only, the amount of Halo-addicts still clinging to their original Xbox is likely to be higher than first thought.

It's the 'other' that surprises me most, unless they've copped out and included DS and PSP in there- or even the PC. Dare we hope a sixth of the time spent gaming last year was on Dreamcast and previous?

[geneshifter]

Yeah, not too surprising given all the things I've heard through the year. I knew PS2 was still no.1 and that people are buying Wii's but not playing anything on them. I was shocked that the PS3 minutes played was lower than xbox 1. I know most people that have one use it for movies only but I had no idea that it was so widespread.

[swlovinist]

Then there are always those people who are using the PS3 to play PS2 games....what category would that be considered in?

[geneshifter]

Then there are always those people who are using the PS3 to play PS2 games....what category would that be considered in?

Yeah, that's a really good point. I bet it's included with the PS2 numbers, right? Also, that would be a small subset of PS3 owners anyways considering the exclusion of BC in most models.

[Leo_A]

I'm sure it would be included with PS3 usage, their equipment wouldn't be able to tell I'm sure that the PS3 was playing a PS2 title.

Unless this is all tracked by hand.

Also, I believe the vast majority of PS3's have some form of PS2 compatibility, I think only the post MGS4 80 gigs don't have any compatibility, along with that Uncharted bundle with a big hd that came out recently. So only the last two or three months of PS3 purchases can't play PS2 titles.

Edit - Forgot about the 40 GB model, but still, a significant percentage of PS3's have some form of PS2 compatibility.

[bones11]

Unless I'm mistaken it's self-reported survey data - Nielsen has no way of tracking time by console in any sort of automated way.

[Leo_A]

Someone here I believe has told of doing this in the 90s and having his rf switches modified to do just that.

[Retsudo]

Im not surprised by the PS2, but not shocked at the PS3. I play mine about every other day and for about an hour when I do. I play the PS2 more.

[Eric Dude]

Yeah, not too surprising given all the things I've heard through the year. I knew PS2 was still no.1 and that people are buying Wii's but not playing anything on them.

No, I think it's just that people who buy Wiis don't spend all their time in online games calling each other faggots. It's more a 'well adjusted' person's kind of system.

[Garry Silljo]

Unless I'm mistaken it's self-reported survey data - Nielsen has no way of tracking time by console in any sort of automated way.

Incorrect. I'm a Nielson home and they have all my systems sending data to the box. I find the Xbox data suspect for only one reason. It doesn't say what it's being used for. As said, I have a Nielson box, but my Xbox is just about never used for gaming, it's primarily my daughters DVD player. So we are transmitting a whole lot of minutes to them, but the data they are reporting doesn't explain why.

[j_factor]

It's the 'other' that surprises me most, unless they've copped out and included DS and PSP in there- or even the PC. Dare we hope a sixth of the time spent gaming last year was on Dreamcast and previous?

It must have been, as portables and PC aren't included. I'd really like to see the breakdown...

[Rob2600]

people are buying Wii's but not playing anything on them.

The Wii is only 3.8% behind the Xbox 360 in usage minutes. In your mind, that mean nobody plays the Wii?

[unwinddesign]

The Wii is only 3.8% behind the Xbox 360 in usage minutes. In your mind, that mean nobody plays the Wii?

Considering the Wii has sold 4.7 million more consoles in the USA than the Xbox 360, or approximately 30% more (20 million v. 15.33 million -- from VGChartz), it's slightly curious as to why the Wii is played 25% less than the 360.

[Rob2600]

Considering the Wii has sold 4.7 million more consoles in the USA than the Xbox 360, or approximately 30% more (20 million v. 15.33 million -- from VGChartz), it's slightly curious as to why the Wii is played 25% less than the 360.

According to this Nielsen study from mid 2007:

Wii = 102.6 minutes per day usage

Xbox 360 = 134.2 minutes per day usage

That's a difference of 25%...or 31.6 minutes per day. An extra half hour doesn't seem like a huge deal to me.

I find the Xbox data suspect for only one reason. It doesn't say what it's being used for. As said, I have a Nielson box, but my Xbox is just about never used for gaming, it's primarily my daughters DVD player.

The same could be said for the PlayStation 2, which also doubles as a DVD player.

[swlovinist]

I think part of the resaon why the Wii is being played less minutes is because of the type of games that probably most people play on the system. I could do a Wii bowling session in about 15 minutes. With that being said, as I get older and have more responsibilities, I enjoy a "mini-session" of game time.

[walrusmonger]

Or the wii could have less minutes because the core user generally has a bedtime of 7 to 9pm, while the 360's core user goes to sleep at 3am and plays FPS while drinking bawls and red bull while eating meatsa trios from pizza hut every other night.


stereotypes ftw

[dbiersdorf]

Considering the Wii has sold 4.7 million more consoles in the USA than the Xbox 360, or approximately 30% more (20 million v. 15.33 million -- from VGChartz), it's slightly curious as to why the Wii is played 25% less than the 360.

Protip: Never use VGchartz for sales numbers, they are mostly made up.

Current US hardware numbers (source NPD)

Wii: 15,391,000
360: 12,449,000
PS3: 6,062,000

And Japan for the hell of it (source Famitsu)

Wii: 7,212,966
PS3: 2,537,348
360: 732,947

[Bojay1997]

I'm still skeptical about some of these numbers, although I do know some people who still play Halo 2 on a daily basis because they prefer it to Halo 3, so those are some Xboxes still getting lots of use. In addition, I agree with the comments that the types of games available for the various systems have an impact on these numbers. The fact that tons of JRPGs are still coming out for the PS2 combined with the installed base probably explain the PS2 numbers. Similarly, there are lots of long Xbox and 360 RPGs and far fewer on the Wii.

[heybtbm]

No, I think it's just that people who buy Wiis don't spend all their time in online games calling each other faggots. It's more a 'well adjusted' person's kind of system.

Irony overload.