Nintendo Consoles Played By 73 Percent Of U.S. Gamers, Says Company

Amongst all U.S. game players that use dedicated consoles, 73 percent use Nintendo products either exclusively or in addition to competitors, according to the company. Speaking to analysts at E3 last week for the first time since its Wii U announcement, Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime cited internal research (consisting of surveys) to show that Nintendo's active users outpace those of its competition. According to the breakdown, 43 percent of those surveyed play exclusively on Nintendo home and/or portable systems, while only 23 percent play exclusively on those provided by Microsoft and Sony. Those that played with both Nintendo systems and its competition represented 30 percent. Nintendo also illustrated the state of the console playing market by pointing out that Nintendo hardware sales saw significant growth in their first 5.5 years on the U.S. marketplace versus their previous generation equivalents, while those of its competition -- when combined -- did not. According to Nintendo, combined console sales of Microsoft and Sony consoles during the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3's respective first 5.5 years on the market are down 9 percent in comparison to the same period in those consoles' previous-generation equivalents, at a combined 43.3 million. Nintendo console sales on the other hand, thanks to the success of the Wii, are up 219 percent, at 35.5 million. According to Fils-Aime, Nintendo is in a unique position with the Wii U to continue to grow its audience by creating a device capable of playing games for all tastes simultaneously. "Right now, we’re in a period where something for everyone really has yet to show in this marketplace and that’s exactly where the new console steps in," he said. The full presentation is available on Nintendo's corporate site.