Nielsen Corrects Survey Error, Shows Wii With A Bigger Share Of Playtime

Analysis firm Nielsen has corrected a mislabeled graph in its recent survey that led to widespread media reports that the Wii receives a smaller share of the total console userbase's playtime than the Xbox 360. Now corrected, it's clear the Wii actually receives a larger share, behind only the PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 3's console play time market share was also understated in the original graph. Nielsen told online news site FastCompany that the correct percentages in terms of user minutes, factoring in the console install base, are actually as follows: PlayStation 2: 23.7%, Wii: 20.7%, Xbox 360: 18.2%, PlayStation 3: 9.0%, Xbox: 7.9%, and GameCube: 3.3%. The company's "State of the Video Gamer" report touted continued and broadening demographics for the industry, and found increasing penetration of new platforms like mobile phones. On a per-user basis, however, as previously reported, Nielsen did find that Wii's users tend to use their console less often and for fewer total minutes than users of Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. The full report, which comments that "while the weak economy has had an effect on many forms of entertainment, video games have shown an amazing resilience, with sales of both gaming consoles and games continuing to show healthy growth", is available via a Nielsen weblog post.