Number Of Games Consoles In US TV Households Increases
The number of video game consoles in US television households has expanded by 18.5% since the fourth quarter of 2004, according to a new report from Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services, a service of The Nielsen Company.
Nielsen says that the increase in both the number and the percentage of US TV households with video game consoles is significant given that the number of total television households has risen 1.6% during the same period.
The number of connected console households (those subscribing to a service that links their consoles to the internet) has grown to more than 4.4 million, even before accounting for the connectivity of the PlayStation 3 and Wii platforms.
Two-thirds of all men in television households between ages 18-34 have access to a video game console in their homes.
Between September 18, 2006 and December 31, 2006, 93.8 million persons used a video game console at least once for a minute or more. Moreover, in any given minute of the day, about 1.6 million people in the US are using a video game console.
Jeff Herrmann, vice president of Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services, said: “The video game console has become a major player in the battle for the living room.
“In households across the country, consoles are successfully competing for consumers’ time and attention; not simply as gaming platforms, but as multimedia hubs that also can deliver high quality digital movies and IPTV.”
According to Nielsen, by the close of 2006, approximately 148.4 million persons had access to at least one video game console system in their home.
That represented more than half (52.4%) of the total US television population. But the levels of penetration were particularly strong among key demographic groups. While more than two-thirds (67.7%) of all men 18-34 had access to a console in their homes, the percentage was dramatically higher (80%) for men 12-17 years of age.
The nation’s video gamers were active at the end of last year as well, with Nielsen recording 93.8 million persons (33% of the population) using an in-home video game console at least once for a minute or more. This was especially true for the top 20% of gamers, who averaged 5 hours and 45 minutes of usage per usage day.
| Unduplicated Video Game Console Audience Reach, Q4 2006 | |||
| Number of persons who used a video game console at least once, for one minute or more in the fourth quarter of 2006 | |||
| Unduplicated Reach users (000) | Reach With Demographic Break | ||
| Males 18-34 | 16,129 | 48.20% | |
| Males 2-11 | 12,958 | 63.20% | |
| Females 18-34 | 11,566 | 34.80% | |
| Males 35-49 | 10,443 | 33.30% | |
| Females 2-11 | 10,144 | 51.80% | |
| Males 12-17 | 9,594 | 75.80% | |
| Females 35-49 | 9,333 | 28.70% | |
| Females 12-17 | 6,168 | 50.80% | |
| Females 50+ | 3,949 | 8.30% | |
| Males 50+ | 3,540 | 8.70% | |
| Source: Nielsen Media Research – National People Meter Sample | |||
Recent research from Telephia revealed that on-portal mobile game revenue grew 61% year on year to $151 million in Q4 2006 (see Mobile Game Revenue Increases).
Meanwhile, ABI Research released a report which said that gaming is becoming increasingly monetised, with micropayments for consoles alone forecast to account for over $833 million by 2011 (see Gaming To Be Increasingly Monetised).