PS2 the Most Played Console In 2008

An anonymous reader writes "In terms of console usage, the aging PS2 still leads the competition, according to data from US research firm Nielsen. Data the company compiled between January and October 2008 shows that the PS2 commanded 31.7 percent of the total number of minutes spent playing consoles. Only 37.9 percent of play time took place on current-gen systems, with the Xbox 360 (17.2 percent) leading the Wii (13.4 percent) and the PS3 (7.3 percent). Users even spent more time playing on the original Xbox (9.7 percent) than the PS3, while Nintendo's GameCube (4.6 percent) wasn't far behind Sony's new console either." World of Warcraft once again topped the most-played PC game list by a large margin. Tetris was the top mobile game, followed by Bejeweled and Guitar Hero III.

Comments

And some of us

[reboot246]

are still playing on the old Atari 2600. :)

Minutes spent correlation to items

[Thanshin]

During 2009 people have spent large amounts of time in apartments, compared to palaces.

We consider that odd, as we thought living in a palace would be more enjoyable for most of people. We aparently were wrong, people would rather live in 150m than in 5000m.

Re:Minutes spent correlation to items

[feepness]

I know the PS3 is expensive but, come on, a palace joke?

I think he is referring to the PS2 vs any next generation console. Compared to all the next generation consoles the PS2 is significantly cheaper in both hardware and games. While the PS3 has dropped 33% and the 360 has a stripped down $200 box and the Wii is still $250, the price is still way higher than the previous generation in TCO.

Re:Minutes spent correlation to items

[Malevolyn]

All I know about journalists is that they're usually somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs begin to take hold.

Wow

[sleeponthemic]

Congratulations to Nielsen on their fully accurate statistical analysis. Particularly obtaining data for predominantly offline consoles.

Re:Wow

[ravenshrike]

Considering that Nielsen doesn't publish their exact methodology, it's not like you know any better. This was almost certainly a survey. Especially seeing as playtime as apparent to the user is not actual playtime.

Re:Wow

[Dadamh]

I really have to say that combining the phrases "pulled out of someone's ass" and "fudge factor" makes for a really distasteful image.

PS3 Can Play Games?

[craznar]

I've had one for a year as a Blu-Ray player and media centre - I never realised you could play games on it. Learn something new every day.

Re:PS3 Can Play Games?

[Anonymous Coward]

How the hell is the parent flamebait? Hurt a poor Sony fanboi's feelings?

LittleBigPlanet is at best a tech demo. Strip out the whiz-bang 3D graphics and realize that the amazing physics engine really isn't amazing, and you've got a sidescroller that compares with Super Mario Bros. and is about as controllable.

Then you've got the level editor. Great. The most amazing levels have been, essentially, mechanical computers, and they're only amazing because of the shear amount of abuse required to make the level work. The rest of the community levels seem to be devoted to earning trophies with as little effort as possible.

The sales of Valkyria Chronicles speak for itself. There's a reason no one is buying it.

If you've played the Mirror's Edge demo, you're aware that it's crap. If you haven't, let Yahtzee educate you.

And if you like Rock Band, you're playing it on the Xbox 360, the platform it was designed for. Every other platform is a port. (Just ask Harmonix themselves - they write for the Xbox 360 first, and then port to other platforms.) If you bought a PS3 to play Rock Band, you're an idiot, pure and simple. The Xbox 360 is cheaper and Rock Band is designed for it. The PS3 version is an afterthought, and the PS2/Wii versions have issues with downloadable content - the Wii mainly with incredibly restrictive available storage space, and the PS2 with the lack of a harddrive on any current model.

Not surprised

[shrykk]

I'm not really surprised - the PS2 has a huge software library, plus most owners have several peripherals that still prove useful. This weekend I played some Singstar and Guitar Hero III with friends, and I'd be more likely to buy more PS2 games that use the guitar and mikes, than to buy new peripherals (extra functionality and downloadable content notwithstanding).

In fact the Singstar game we played was a brand-new copy of the recently-released Singstar ABBA, and everyone loved it.

You can pick up used PS2 games for a pittance. I remember chatting to a store assistant in a games store, saying he was still always seeing parents come in and picking up PS2s with a bunch of games for the holidays. Console and a load of games well under 100 UK pounds, for which you can't really get another console (perhaps a DS or PSP with one game).

They're still releasing new games for the PS2, a pretty clear indication that it's still alive. No-one sane would advocate playing a cut-down and graphically poor PS2 Force Unleashed, but it's clearly still economically viable to release it. Though some would say the same for the Wii version. And, I don't want to arouse any fanboy ire, but I have a sneaking suspicion that similarities in graphical capabilities between the Wii and PS2 might help the economics of releasing a PS2 port... Anyway, there are a ton of PS2 games that are well worth playing - a brilliant last-generation game beats a mediocre current-gen one.

Everyone commenting on gaming stories should disclose their console preferences to discourage fanboy-ism. My TV is currently hooked up to a Wii, a PS2 and a Sega Master System.

In other news

[SupremoMan]

Scientists were shocked to discovered that when PS3 was released all PS2 consoles around the worlds did not spontaneously explode!

Maybe Sony should build them less sturdy? I mean who ever heard of electronic device that can lasts for 5, hell 10 years!