Nielsen Research past 6 months Console Gaming

Nielsen

Nielsen video game data released today shows that Video Gamers are playing more this summer than last. Total video game console usage minutes in June 2009 went up 21% from the the previous June. The average console gamer played 768 minutes on consoles during this year’s June reporting month.

Other notable trends from June 2009 show:

* Video game consoles are not just being played by kids – just under 50% of gameplay came from adults 18+
* Teenagers 12-17 have the largest percent of play, which accounted for 25% of gaming in June
* Xbox 360 and PS2 are now neck and neck in terms of minutes played per month, yet June data shows Xbox 360 is the most active console, with the 6-month trend show Xbox 360 with the highest active users

* PlayStation consoles tend to be more gender neutral than other consoles. Xbox 360 continues to skew more male and Wii continue to skew more female.

* More Americans are playing the newer consoles. Nielsen data shows that current generation consoles, such as Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, made up 50% of total share of minutes in June 2009, while last generation consoles, such as Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube, made up only 31% of total minutes. Use of older gaming consoles (PS One, Atari 2600, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, etc.) made up the 19% balance of usage minutes for the month.