Nielsen: Xbox 360 Most Popular Among Younger Gamers

A recent study conducted by Nielsen Media Research revealed that the Xbox 360 is the most popular next-generation console amongst 10-26 year olds, its users turning on the console an average 28 days per month, each average lasting 74 minutes. Though the average time spent during PlayStation 3 sessions, 72 minutes, wasn't that much less, users only turned on the Sony console an average 21 days per month. Users spent time with the Wii an average 20 days per month, but only for about 53 minutes each session. Nielsen attributed the Xbox 360's dominance to its attach rate, the highest of the three consoles, among other details: "Other likely factors in the success of Xbox 360 are the strong library of games available (including Halo 3 released in the fourth quarter of 2007) and the large installed base of the platform (over 62% share of next generation console usage)." The study, conducted from April 2007 to February 2008, also found that among users aged 27 and up, the PlayStation 3 was the most popular, with users spending time with the console 28 days per month for an average 52 minutes per session. The older users turned on their Xbox 360s only 19 days per month for an average 55 minutes per session. According to Nielsen, the PlayStation 3 is "likely appealing not only to video gamers, but to tech-conscious, Blue-ray [sic] early adopters." The Wii fared even worse with the older demographic, with users turning the system on only 12 days per month for an average 47 minutes each session. Nielsen presumed that the lower numbers were "possibly due to the fact that Wii video games tend to appeal to a younger crowd."