GameDailyBiz published some interesting findings from Nielsen last week, which provided a direct correlation between income level and console purchases:
Nielsen today released its first round of data from its new GamePlay Metrics service used to measure PC and console video game usage. There were a number of interesting findings and tidbits, but perhaps the most interesting was that despite all the hype surrounding the new consoles, the PS2 remains the most played system today. Sony’s aging console accounted for 42 percent of video game console usage during June. This was followed by the original Xbox at 17 percent, the 360 at 8 percent, GameCube at 5.8 percent, Wii at 4 percent, and PS3 at 1.5 percent. Nielsen also found from a demographics standpoint that Wii households are typically “upscale” with incomes of $100,000 or more – ironic, considering that Nintendo’s console is the cheapest of the new systems.
I would call that way ironic. How is the cheapest system the one who lands in the most affluent households?
However, thinking about it a bit more, the Wii is breaking records in terms of usage. Maybe affluent people who do not recognize themselves as gamers want to use and play the Wii. The diverse line of titles and the lower dollar investment to play is enticing to many people. Maybe the affluent are just more money savvy and want a console system that will not break the bank?
Suddenly, the findings do not look so strange after all.
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