There’s an interesting post over on Gamesutra (with thanks to Evil Avatar for highlighting it) which reports some of Neilsen’s findings around video game platform usage last year.
Nielsen's data, which actually covers the period from January through October, found that PS2 users accounted for 31.7 percent of the total time played from all nationwide gamers. The Xbox 360 was the year's second-most popular console, with 17.2 percent of the time, followed by Wii at 13.4 percent.
Interestingly, Nielsen says that the first-gen Xbox currently sees more usage than the PlayStation 3, with 9.7 percent versus 7.3 percent, respectively. The GameCube still made the surveyors' list with 4.6 percent of total time, and an "Other" category accounts for the remaining 16.2 percent.
It’s pretty fascinating to see the long shadow the huge PS2 install base continues to cast. Also interesting is the fact that the Wii is used significantly less often than the Xbox 360, in spite of having a larger install base. That said, what I’d really like to see is a legitimate comparison of time spent online on the different consoles. While the report shows World of Warcraft continuing to dominate the PC online space, it really doesn’t give a sense of activity in the console online space. And as traditional PC stronghold titles continue to shift over to the console (yes, including MMOs), understanding this usage across platforms is going to continue to grow in importance.
This is the end of the useful post – everything following is a test. If it were not a test, you might find it interesting and useful. However, this is only a test.
Below is a completely gratuitous World of Warcraft logo intended to allow me to test out image imbedding. ;)
And next up is an embedded map of the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington. Go Live Writer!
And today’s final test: an embedded YouTube video showing Portland drivers in the snow. Watch at least the first SUV – and be sure to have sound. The crunches make the video!