Nielsen: One-third of TV owners play game consoles
by Kyle Orland 
{ Mar 5th 2007 at 11:55AM }
Nielsen Media Research, best know for its TV ratings, has released an outline the American video game landscape in the form of "The State of the Console" report. Among the more interesting findings:
-
45.7 million U.S. households have at least one game system, out of 111.4 million that have TVs (41.1%). This number has risen from 38.6 million (35.2%) in late 2004.
-
148.4 million Americans have access to a console in their home, out of 283.5 million that have access to TVs (52.4%). Of those, 93.8 million Americans (33.3% of the TV population) actually used a console in the 4th quarter of 2006.
-
The top 20% of gamers are responsible for 75% of the console time, averaging 5 hours and 45 minutes of use per day.
Those last two factoids are pretty interesting, as they show console games are still appealing primarily to a very small niche of the potential market, and that a small slice of that niche is responsible for most of the actual playing time. If game makers can somehow attract these uninterested console owners, they'll have tapped into a much larger market than they might be used to.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Myke @ Mar 5th 2007 12:00PM
Wow, I wish I had the free time to average nearly 6 hours a day of gaming. I envy those folks, probably mostly kids anyway.
Diskoboy @ Mar 5th 2007 12:03PM
With Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln.
Zertoss @ Mar 5th 2007 12:11PM
What's funny is that none of my consoles are even hooked up to a TV. I've got them all plugged into my PC's monitor. I could actually get away with not owning a TV at all and still play any console.
So there is the possibility of people owning and playing consoles without a TV anywhere in their houses.
And like #1, I also wish I had the time to play 6 hours a day.
Sam @ Mar 5th 2007 12:12PM
Reminds me of something I read recently:
"Economists often talk about the 80/20 Principle, which is the idea that in any situation roughly 80 percent of the "work" will be done by 20 percent of the participants. In most societies, 20 percent of criminals commit 80 percent of the crimes. twenty percent of motorists cause 80 percent of all accidents. Twenty percent of beer drinkers drink 80 percent of all beer."
from "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell.
Jake @ Mar 5th 2007 1:18PM
6 hours per day is a lot. I game every chance I possibly get and am lucky to average 2 hours a day, with most my gaming done on the weekends. I actually question that number a bit.
Charles @ Mar 5th 2007 1:33PM
I could believe that students could play games up to 6 hours everyday. There were times where I could do that in grade school, high school, and college.
Now I'm lucky to get 6 hours a week. But hey, priorities changes. No one's going to get the groceries for me.
CowboyGA @ Mar 5th 2007 1:36PM
Anyone who works full time will find it nearly impossible to pull off that many hours a day. Weekends when you have nothing else to do, okay, but not work nights.
However, teenagers in Summer have a lot of free time to offset those numbers. I'm not sure how they came up with the exact figures, but it's possible that the numbers are per househould. As in, two teens playing 2.5 hour = 5 hours for the househould.
hegemonyhog @ Mar 5th 2007 2:12PM
"6 hours per day is a lot. I game every chance I possibly get and am lucky to average 2 hours a day, with most my gaming done on the weekends. I actually question that number a bit."
I wouldn't - to say that the most active 20% average six hours a day, particularly given that a significant number of them are likely either students, under working age or unemployed. Back in my mega-gamer days, when I was self-employed and preferred to work 18 hours at a time twice a week rather than anything resembling eight-hour days, it was nothing for me to sit down and play from noon until 8.
Of course, I went from that to being lucky to fit in an hour of gametime on Saturday mornings.
deaftly @ Mar 5th 2007 2:11PM
naked gun = best movies ever
Grant @ Mar 5th 2007 2:34PM
wow, i would hate to meet the guy that is out there playing 9 hours a day minimum to make up for my measly 3 hours a day max.
6 hours a day average proves one of two things:
1.teachers everywhere need to assign more homework
2.Gamers need to start actually doing that homework.
LaughingTarget @ Mar 5th 2007 2:49PM
Professional gamers, gold farmers and shut-ins are doing a good job pulling those numbers up as well. The crowd that managed to pull a blood elf character from 1 to 70 in a week and a half are pulling those averages way up.
FSK405K @ Mar 5th 2007 3:14PM
Ah, the joys of being not currently full-time employed. I jump into Rome: TW and go through the lifespan of one faction leader in one sitting.
pete @ Mar 5th 2007 4:01PM
Yea im in highschool and i play maybe maybe 4 hours a day, but im looking for a job so thats ganna change.
how would he find out how long gamers play for?
Quando @ Mar 5th 2007 6:29PM
In other "fun with statistics" news:
20% of all gun owners shoot 75% of all bullets.
Comment 1:
Those 20% are probably all soldiers in Iraq.
Comment 2:
Ahh, the joys of being in a professional army! I can get into my turret and go through a whole magazine of bullets in one sitting.
Comment 3:
In other "fun with statistics" news ...
...
And my point is that statistics really are FUN!
Poisoned Al @ Mar 5th 2007 9:29PM
Over 5 hours a day gaming? I thought I had too much free time!
hotblack @ Mar 6th 2007 1:24AM
"If game makers can somehow attract these uninterested console owners, they'll have tapped into a much larger market than they might be used to."
Of course another possibility is that with all the work over recent years non-core gamers have been attracted. They just can't use the consoles they have access to because they are being hogged by those playing for 5 hours a day.
http://gamenian.blogspot.com/index.html