Nielsen: PS3 And 360 Used Far More Than The Wii
See Full ImageAs if we needed the clarification, but Nielsen has once again proved the popular theory that the Wii simply isn't geared towards gamers, but rather...everyone else.
According to Nielsen's State of the Video Gamer study (yeah, that's the actual title), Wii owners use their console far less than PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 owners. Edge reported on the study, which showed that those who have a Wii only used it 6.8% of the time they could've been using it. We assume the study measures a participant's free time, and then, how much of that free time they spend playing on their video game system. This is in stark contrast to the PS3's "Active User Percentage" of 10.6% and the Xbox 360's percentage of 10.2%. The Wii was also trailed all other machines - save the GameCube - in the "average usage days" category; it only tallied about 5. The PS3 and 360 were used 6.8 and 7.1 days on average, respectively. Nielsen also looked at the average number of play sessions on any given day, and the Wii was behind here as well, coming in at about 1.78 sessions, as opposed to 2.42 for the PS3 and 2.15 for the 360. Obviously, one must also note that the multimedia capabilities of the PS3 and 360 means people would probably use it more than the Wii for a variety of purposes. But the results are hardly surprising, and further disproves any remaining archaic beliefs that the the PS3 "has no games."
We could also add that most of the Wii games aren't exactly titles you spend a great deal of time with, and are often best suited for multiplayer. You can't always have a bunch of friends around to play, and given the stale software selection, you probably have no crazy urge to play many new titles. Just a possible theory to explain the stats, that's all.
4/8/2009 Ben Dutka
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Comments (61 posts)
Orvisman
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:04:13 PM
Metroid
Zelda
Super Smash Brothers
No More Heroes
House of The Dead Overkill
MadWorld
4 up, 2 down
Orvisman
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:44:01 PM
Listen, I'm a Sony guy. The PS1-3 have been my preferred gaming systems these past three gens, but that doesn't mean the other consoles don't have good games.
6 up, 0 down
Arvis
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:46:14 PM
That being said, they all could have been done on the Gamecube. God, the Wii is a waste of EVERYTHING.
-Arvis
5 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:51:19 PM
1 up, 1 down
Jonesy555
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:09:01 PM
1 up, 0 down
N a S a H
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 3:29:50 PM
PEACE
2 up, 1 down
bamf
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 6:32:32 PM
Zelda would be a game I would get if I owned a Wii, but its not a system seller.
Mad World looks goodgameplay wise, shame about the B&W visuals with red paint as blood. Apparently its only 3 hrs long.
We mostly play Mario Kart but that gets boring fast, its probably only the real good multiplayer game on the Wii.
Its like Nasah says, the top Wii games which are so few considering how long he Wii has been out for, seem so much better when you match them up the the rest of whats on the Wii, which is mostly kiddie or family stuff. You have those games listed on PS3 and 360 and there wouldn't be any interest from gamers as they just wouldn't compete to the top games thats already out on PS3 an 360. Improved visuals may help gain some interest, but I just feel those Wii games are too casual.
0 up, 0 down
Bugzbunny109
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 10:04:06 PM
1 up, 1 down
Juanalf
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 12:47:27 PM
Reply
5 up, 1 down
kevinater321
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:48:00 PM
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:52:19 PM
0 up, 0 down
Juanalf
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:59:32 PM
P.S I am not insulting nintendo's franchises just their crappy machine.
3 up, 0 down
Gone
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 12:49:28 PM
Reply
Last edited by Gone on 4/8/2009 12:56:28 PM
3 up, 0 down
Tim Speed24
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:04:40 PM
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How long can you play Wii sports?????
1 up, 1 down
Naga
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:18:52 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
maxpontiac
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:36:45 PM
Reply
Way to many killer PS3 games on the horizon..
1 up, 0 down
coldbore
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:43:23 PM
Reply
0 up, 1 down
www
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 6:21:24 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:50:27 PM
Reply
Just for kicks, take that active user % (the number of people out of 100 who actually use their console in a given month). Then multiply the average number of days used and the average number of sessions per day - this gives you an average figure that says for the survey period the average console was used this many times. Now multiply this by the active user % and you get - in effect - the average number of gaming sessions per period of time (whatever the survey period was). Because we're multiplying by the active user %, this final number truly represents the average number of gaming sessions per console during the survey period.
Here are the results;
Wii - 0.605
PS3 - 1.744
360 - 1.55
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the time period of survey is a month. So in effect we're saying that the average Wii owner doesn't even turn on their console once a month. Xbox 360 owners use their console about 1 and a half times a month, and PS3 owners nearly use their console of choice twice a month.
Comparing the cost of the consoles, Wii is $250, the 360 is $300 plus $50 for XBL (online play required) and the PS3 is $400. Taking the average uses per month and dividing the consol cost by it, we can get an average cost per use for each console.
Wii = $250/0.605 = $413 - Now, the Wii only costs $250, so even though it's used less than once a month, the cost per use has to peg at $250
360 = $349.99/1.55 = $258
PS3 = $399.99/1.744 = $229
Based on these figures I have to say that the PS3 represents the best value for money since on a $ per use basis, the PS3 is more cost effective than the other two game systems.
Fun with numbers.......
4 up, 1 down
englishgolfer
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:02:44 PM
2 up, 0 down
coldbore
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:32:52 PM
1 up, 0 down
ironman505
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 5:11:56 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 5:12:44 PM
Nah, I work with numbers, plus I'm moderately ADD, it's a curse. Like having a brain that's fabulous at useless trivia.
It was just a thought I followed down the rabbit hole. I had no idea where it would lead.
0 up, 0 down
www
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 6:20:02 PM
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 1:56:05 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
ironman505
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 5:13:27 PM
0 up, 0 down
NoSmokingBandit
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:06:34 PM
Reply
I have quite a few games to finish on it too.
0 up, 0 down
Ultimadesires
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:58:28 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
photo K
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:59:20 PM
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I had a Wii, and I put about $500 worth into it. I didn't play it for months, about 8 months to be exact. So I gave it away to my friend who said she play it if I gave it to her.
I have both the 360 and PS3, and I watch videos and movies on my PS3 everyday and I play video games on it every other day for at least 2-3 hours if I'm lucky.
My 360 gathers dust since it was returned from the repairshop for getting the RRoD disease.
0 up, 0 down
Arvis
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 3:09:35 PM
-Arvis
0 up, 1 down
photo K
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 4:57:17 PM
0 up, 0 down
CH1N00K
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 3:02:00 PM
Reply
Or that's at least how Fox News would report it...
Just something for you to think about.
1 up, 1 down
booze925
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 3:33:52 PM
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1 up, 0 down
JasperLoons
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 4:11:58 PM
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They definitely won something, I'm just not sure what. Most consumers fooled into paying $250 for a $100 gimmick?
Down vote me if you want Wii fans, but I had one and got rid of it so I am entitled to my opinion. (Mario Galaxy and Zelda:TP were awesome though)
2 up, 0 down
photo K
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 4:58:49 PM
0 up, 0 down
ironman505
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 5:07:40 PM
Reply
1 up, 2 down
migabyte
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 9:44:44 PM
0 up, 0 down
smileys_007
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 5:18:08 PM
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0 up, 0 down
SnipeySnake
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 5:47:16 PM
Reply
1 up, 0 down
Robochic
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 6:48:01 PM
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Zelda,FFCCEchoes of time,Chocobo dungeons,and rayman raving rabbids
0 up, 0 down
crawdaddy
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 7:10:48 PM
Reply
2 up, 0 down
crawdaddy
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 7:48:49 PM
Reply
Last edited by crawdaddy on 4/8/2009 7:55:27 PM
0 up, 0 down
crawdaddy
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 8:30:20 PM
0 up, 0 down
godsman
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 9:30:29 PM
Reply
0 up, 0 down
Banky A
Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 3:26:00 AM
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Most times not even playing a game.
Kthnxbai.
0 up, 0 down
Alienange
Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 5:45:07 AM
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These numbers make perfect sense to me and the gap will continue to get bigger as more people get over the Wii fad and move on to real gaming.
0 up, 0 down
shaydey77
Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 9:16:32 AM
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It doesnt even have GTA!! even the DS now has that!!!
Ps3 and 360 have geat games that you can really get into such as Halo 3 and MGS4.
As on the youtube video dubbed when hitler gets banned from xbox live " How much fun can you possibly have with super f**king mario?"
0 up, 0 down
dveisalive
Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 1:27:09 PM
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0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 2:33:12 PM
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Neilsen had to announce that they messed up. Basically they mis-calculated the usage numbers for the Wii. What they do is calculate the average number of minutes spent using a console and then multiply that by the console's market share in order to guesstimate what % of the total gaming time available was spent on a given system.
So PS2 which has huge numbers of units installed does well, even if it's actual use numbers in the households monitored by Neilsen are a little lack luster. In fact weighting the usage by market share masks the true usage picture giving the Wii a boost compared to the PS3 and 360. In fact the PS3 and 360 are very similar in usage terms, both are well used. I looked up the report and got the actual numbers.
In terms of actual minutes spent gaming, the survey said this. An average Wii gamer played for 516 minutes during the survey period, Xbox 360 gamers played for 1191 minutes and PS3 gamers clocked up 1053 minutes. Both PS3 and 360 have more than twice the amount of play time per user compared to Wii. In fact the original Xbox had 837 and PS2 gamers clocked up 773 minutes, both healthily above the usage of the Wii.
When you factor in market share, Wii's impressive sales numbers alter the picture, as do those of the 360, however there are two telling facts here too. Factoring in the Wii's market share does not alter the fact that on an individual gamer basis Wii gamers spend less than half the time playing compared to PS3 or 360 gamers. Game publishers take now, people are buying the Wii, but they are not playing the Wii. The folks that buy games are the ones that play them. Also the typical user of a Wii was aged 6-11, not a group noted for it's huge disposable income. SP3 on the other hand had it's core users in the 25-34 age group, folks who do have a disposable income for buying games.
The second fact is that an unknown number in excess of a million Xbox360s sold in the US are no longer functional, so using unit sales of the 360 as a multipier is misleading, since the units sold is not truly an indicator of their market share.
If you stick to actual minutes per gamer surveyed, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are clear winners followed by original Xbox, PS2 and then the GameCube and finally the Wii. Yes, the Wii attracts the fewest actual minutes of use out of all six consoles surveyed.
If you want to look at the numbers themselves, you can find them here;
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/stateofvgamer_040909_fnl.pdf
2 up, 0 down
Minishmaru
Thursday, April 09, 2009 @ 3:54:39 PM
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0 up, 0 down
GHill4Life
Reply
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 12:45:03 PM