Nielsen stats: PlayStation 2 most played system in June
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jul 26th 2007 at 7:45PM }
Warning: Nearly 90% of this post is comprised of statistical data. According to a recently released Nielsen GamePlay Metrics report, the PlayStation 2 was the most played system in June, accounting for 42.3% of total video game console usage for the month. Once the shock of learning that dissipates, consider that in second place with 21.3% usage is the mysterious "other," which the report denotes as "any other console systems found in the home" excluding current and previous generation systems. The Xbox 360 took up 8% of the time, double that of the Wii and 7.5% higher than the PlayStation 3.
The PS3 did, however, record the longest individual usage sessions (internet says: "Cos they're watching Hitch on Blu-ray lolz!"), an average one lasting 83 minutes. The Xbox 360 experienced the highest number of sessions per day (internet says: "It's all those system reboots amirite?"), each with an average duration of 61 minutes. An average session logged with the Wii is reported to be 57 minutes long (internet says: "Minigames oh noes!").
This Nielsen GamePlay Metrics sample includes approximately 33,000 individuals comprising over 12,000 households. The data is said to be collected through a combination of the Nielsen People Meter TV sample and a "proprietary audio signature library" that matches unique audio signatures of each tracked game on the relevant console platforms. Interestingly, the report also observes that "Wii households are upscale. They are more likely to earn more than $100,000 income per year." What say you to that, oh insightful internet?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AlexP @ Jul 26th 2007 7:50PM
Obvious? Durrrr.
Matt B @ Jul 26th 2007 7:54PM
I don't really trust this kind of study.
I don't get to play my PS3 as much as I would like.(3 kids, wife,work), but when I do get to play I'd easy go 1 1/2-2 hours or more.
"Interestingly, the report also observes that "Wii households are upscale. They are more likely to earn more than $100,000 income per year."
LMAO
copa @ Jul 26th 2007 10:42PM
I'm curious why you found that so funny, Matt. Just because someone has a lot of money doesn't mean they're going to buy the most overpriced console.
They are still going to select the console that has games that they want to play. Those numbers don't surprise me at all.
N-Zero @ Jul 26th 2007 7:56PM
I make 100,000 grand a year so I wonder who else on joystiq who has a wii makes the same as well. (*Gasp*) Could this anaylist be right about Wii owners!!!!!!!
(I am not trying to say I'm rich by putting how much I am, I am a middle class person thankyou very much like many others here on joystiq)
mirage @ Jul 26th 2007 8:07PM
If your $100,000 makes you middle class, my $28,000 must make me homeless!!! LOL, my Wii looks pretty good in my cardboard box!
Farseer @ Jul 27th 2007 10:46AM
If you make $100,000 a year, you sure don't do so by writing on a daily basis.
Farseer @ Jul 27th 2007 11:03AM
Sorry, I meant to say "If you make $100,000,000 a year..."
I find it odd that if you make one hundred million dollars a year, you find time to read and comment on Joystiq articles...
razer @ Jul 26th 2007 7:56PM
Original Xbox is #2??? Wow, maybe MS gave up too soon on the OG. What type of people are these Nielson people polling? It seems to point that maybe people on both the PS2 and Xbox1 haven't made the leap to "next-gen" yet. I bet most of those people are playing Halo 2, just waiting for Halo 3 to drop.. Or they aren't into gaming much or are cheap asses..
marcandrer @ Jul 26th 2007 7:58PM
61 mins for 360.. I think thats more like the time they spend on the phone with msft trying to get their console repaired..
h0mi @ Jul 26th 2007 7:59PM
"The PS3 did, however, record the longest individual play sessions"
Are they counting using Folding@home as a play session?
N-Zero @ Jul 26th 2007 8:02PM
"Are they counting using Folding@home as a play session?"
Nice one hOmi LOL
Ludwig Kietzmann @ Jul 26th 2007 8:03PM
Hmm, they don't specify, so I've changed it to "usage" as opposed to "play."
N-Zero @ Jul 26th 2007 8:09PM
Don't put yourself down mirage I am probably older than u so at least u have youth.
mirage @ Jul 26th 2007 8:27PM
MMMMMMM... youth....
ZenGaijin @ Jul 26th 2007 8:31PM
whats funny is that the Wii is nowhere on this list. The people that own 360s seem to play it more than the people with Wii's...
eelb @ Jul 27th 2007 9:18AM
Wikipedia says the 360 has sold 5.4 million as of May 18th in the USA alone, whereas the Wii has sold 3.81 million as of June 30 in both American continents.
So we can conclude that in the USA, the 360 has double the user base, which explains why the 360 is getting twice as much playtime as the Wii.
Shiro @ Jul 26th 2007 8:50PM
Did they ever say how they got this info? Because just the other day, I remember seeing this creepy guy watching me play my video games. I thought it was odd.
/Sarcasm.
beans @ Jul 26th 2007 10:02PM
Iiiii dunknow about that one
if there's anything that's spontaneous it's got to be video game choice. I'm sure we'd be seeing much different statistics if, say, Jesus lend these guys a hand in getting a more global perspective on what's going on here.
Word of the street. @ Jul 26th 2007 10:15PM
With "others" they mean PC's right?,I mean you know with WOW being the most played game nowadays,that or the Dreamcast got played a lot in June.
Now the Wii getting more played than the x360 that doesnt seems to be ok.Ps3 well if you are counting the loading times of rainbow six perhaps.
Evan @ Jul 26th 2007 10:34PM
"others" means other consoles...
- older consoles (e.g. Sega Dreamcast)
- retro and tv-game systems (e.g. FC Twin)
- educational consoles (e.g. vSmile)
PC is not including in other.
Nielsen collected separate statistics for the PC. World of Warcraft accounted for 18% of all PC gameplay! Halo came in 2nd with 3.6%, and The Sims 3rd with 3.3%. The average WoW player spent over 4 times as many hours playing WoW than the average Sims player spent playing The Sims.
Collie @ Jul 26th 2007 10:57PM
WoW took 85%, not 18%. and the rest of the PC list had entries for warcraft and warcraft3 in the top ten. Where is the WoW money printer picture?
Evan @ Jul 26th 2007 10:21PM
The Wii has the highest average playtime per console, followed by the 360. The average 360 console saw 30% more minutes of playtime than the average PS3 console!
Ludwig failed to account for the number of consoles in peoples home. To understand the average playtime per console, you have to divide by the number of each type of console as follows:
#Consoles - %Minutes - Minutes-per-Consoles ratio
Wii - 2.47m - 4.0 - 1.619
360 - 5.40m - 8.3 - 1.537
Xbox - 14.4m - 17.0 - 1.181
PS3 - 1.27m - 1.5 - 1.181
PS2 - 38.2m - 42.3 - 1.107
GC - 11.5m - 5.8 - 0.504
Collie @ Jul 26th 2007 10:55PM
hugh?!
3cubedminus3squared @ Jul 27th 2007 12:41AM
Wow, that really cleared things up.
I know my 360 hasn't seen much gameplay lately.
Maybe if Forza2 wasn't such a disappointment it would get turned on.
Terrak @ Jul 26th 2007 10:47PM
Thanks for pointing that out Evan. That makes things a whole lot clearer.
I'd also like to add this little piece of information Joystiq has not. From IGN
http://au.wii.ign.com/articles/807/807852p1.html
Wii has almost reached the 10 million Wiis sold mark (9.27 Million to be exact) which was achieved in around 8 months time. The 360 which has been for sale for around 18 months has sold only 11.6 million. Wii will be #1 by years end at this rate.
Jake @ Jul 27th 2007 9:04AM
Still waiting for the types of games I want to play. Metroid and Mario, two games, in a year isn't quite cutting it for me.
I have a Wii. I am just jaded that these awesome sales that everyone is so pumped about isn't translating to the types of games I want to play. That is, more traditionally hardcore games with badass controls that add to the game.
elmersglue @ Jul 26th 2007 11:58PM
I'd rather use my DS than a Wii. I don't know why i'm posting this, but i just am.
Measure @ Jul 27th 2007 12:55AM
Insightful internet responds:
See, the reason that 100k income homes have the wii is... these homes contain non-gamers, and those who can afford to waste money on a system they won't use much.
Whereas, us poor people, if we're going to buy a system, are going to buy one that makes us feel like we can play the best-looking games around.
But we still can't afford the PS3.
warioswoods @ Jul 27th 2007 2:21PM
Did you take time to read Evan's post above? Your math is lacking - the average play time per Wii console is in fact higher than the 360, so your average Wii owner does, in fact, use his/her console more than the average 360 owner. The 360 has been out a whole lot longer and still has a much larger install base, so it gets more total hours, but not per user/console. So it would be incorrect to refer to Wii users as those who will "buy a console they won't use much," since, in fact, they get more usage out of their consoles according to these stats.
Jamesology @ Jul 27th 2007 9:53AM
yeah, if the Wii actually has depth in their games then I would play it more. I think I would like PS3 more but it's too freaking expensive so I wont waste my cash on that. 360 is pointless I dont even bother with that; they just seem to get all the games from PS when it gets old and useless.
They were so happy about katamari coming to 360 when the create ditched it and says he's done with games. Then he makes another for PS.
I cant wait for Mario Galaxy. It looks like the fun factor will last me more than 5 min.
Jake @ Jul 27th 2007 9:05AM
It would appear from the survey that perhaps the PS3 indeed doesn't have "the best looking games around". Give it another year.
steve @ Jul 27th 2007 5:01PM
I think what this study says is that rich people are cheap and will only buy the cheapest console of the current generation
Measure @ Jul 27th 2007 5:31PM
warioswoods: You don't believe Evan's crappy math, do you? Nielson was measuring actual time spent playing, and Evan mixes that up with some kind of ratio of consoles sold divided by minutes per console... which makes no sense whatsoever when comparing to daily usage statistics.
warioswoods @ Jul 27th 2007 6:28PM
Actually, it does make sense. Nielson's statistics show comparative daily usage total for consoles given a sample population that should be representative. However, Nielson's numbers do not take account of the number of total consoles, which does need to be used if you want to derive anything useful about the amount of time users of a given console tend to play it. Think of it this way - if the sample group used by Nielson were to have used console A 60% of the time, and console B 40% of the time, yet console B has approximately 10 units in circulation, while console A has 1000, it would be clear that, while console A is played more total hours, console B, with only 10 consoles in existence, gets more play time per console owned. Not to take account of the total number of consoles, of which even the title of this Joystiq article is guilty, will not tell you anything about "how much users of X console play it." Statistics like this are a bit suspect in general, I would grant, yet nothing is more suspect than just using the base numbers without thinking about how many units of a given console exist.
Measure @ Jul 27th 2007 7:00PM
So, you are attacking the validity of the data. You claim that Nielson is not using a representative sample? Did I miss the part where Nielsen said that?
Also, for Evan's math to work, instead of a sample that was representative of all consoles, we would need a sample that was perfectly representative of all homes, or perhaps all homes with consoles.
Given that these facts are not in evidence, I stand by my bad math claim.
warioswoods @ Jul 27th 2007 7:22PM
Attacking validity?? I don't know why you seem unable to read. As I said, Nielson's numbers show exactly what they are meant to show: given a representative sample of individuals who used a console, Nielson lets us compare the total numbers of hours different consoles logged. The only suspect part is when someone looks at the list blankly without thinking about what those numbers mean, or when someone uses it selectively to pick some stat to support an argument. Yes, the 360 had more total hours than the Wii, but you cannot read that and then leap to the conclusion that Wii users don't get as much use out of their consoles, because that's a leap from "X hours used total" to "X hours per owner of the console." While using the total number of each console sold in the US still isn't perfect, it gives an far better picture of how things would look on a per console basis, and, in fact, shows that, given everything we know, it would be more reasonable to conclude that each Wii console in the US gets slightly more playtime than each 360. The reason I jumped in to begin with is that you made a claim that clearly exceeds the bounds of the study when you talked about Wii users buying a console they will use less. To make claims of that sort, you will have to look to statistics on total consoles, which, as I've said repeatedly, is still not perfect, but far better than the conclusion you pulled from nowhere.
Also, there is a reply button now, so that all these back-and-forth messages can be nested properly from one parent post. Please use it so others can scan past our bickering instead of having it all dumped at the bottom of the thread.
Measure @ Jul 27th 2007 7:27PM
Yeah, but you can't do a second-level reply. The button just isn't there.
As for Evans math... I clicked through to the nielson report... only percentages are ever listed, and evan somehow adds actual minutes the the equation? weird.
warioswoods @ Jul 27th 2007 8:11PM
I think the practice is to hit reply on the one at the top of current debate, since it only allows one level of nesting, which does mean that you'd be clicking reply on your own post, admittedly a bit odd, but that's the only way to keep it together.
He uses the percentage numbers, not absolute numbers, which is why his final numbers are only comparative ratios, only useful in comparison between consoles but meaningless by themselves, ie., there is no way to translate them into a specific number of minutes. He might not have made that clear enough.
John @ Jul 27th 2007 10:14PM
LMAO at farseer, good call... "I was LITERALLY glued to my seat!" People who don't even know what they're saying. Hey, I bet that guy has a nicer car than me, but... I still have my mind...
Word of the Street, Dreamcast... very funny, sublime.
Lastly,
I will NEVER argue with Warioswoods about statistics. Person knows their stuff.
dsub @ Jul 29th 2007 2:23AM
So let me get this straight, Nielson had to do a study to prove that the 120,000,000 PS2's in the world are being played more than any other console?
Wow. Someone is getting overpaid. I would have saved them alot of time and money and gave them that little tidbit for free.