The current generation of home consoles has built itself in large part on the image of a family in the living room playing together -- and Nielsen finds that half of America's consoles reside in the living room, with the Wii the most likely hardware to be found in front of the household's main TV.
The Wii can be found in 59 percent of living rooms that have game consoles, the research firm finds in a new survey, calling it a "reflection of the Nintendo console's motion-controlled, social gaming style."
At 52 and 45 percent, respectively, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are less likely to be placed in living rooms, despite their comparatively greater multimedia functionalities relative to the Wii.
Nielsen says it expects to see a marketshare shift, however, as motion control systems like Kinect and Move that encourage multiple participants gain more market penetration.
The second-most popular location for video game consoles is the bedroom; only one in five systems is in a child's bedroom specifically, Nielsen says.
The Xbox 360 leads in bedroom marketshare among kids -- at 28 percent, it has nearly double that of Wii (14 percent) and PS3 (16 percent). 7 percent of people keep a console in the basement.
"The master bedroom is home to another 10 percent of 7th Gen systems, with a number of other household locations accounting for the balance of platforms," the report concludes.
This probably means that most gamers consider the Xbox 360 and PS3 their console of choice, because it's the one they play privately in their room. It's a place where gamers are likely to get most of their gaming done and play the games they want to play without other people interrupting them. These are the games they want to focus on and play of their choice.
The living room is for a shared experience, with multiple people, guests, and done where others can see and participate in. It's not so much the games, but the group activity.
Some interesting stuff in there - has anyone got access to the full report and does it have any information on which consoles people are actually playing (as opposed to just reporting the hardware's physical location)?
For instance, the fact that so many Wiis are in the living room could imply that it's mostly being used for "party" situations. Equally, it's a bit surprising to see that the Xbox 360 dominates children's bedrooms - I'd have expected the Wii to take the lead there.
It's also the room where the adults tend to do most of their home-based activities (i.e. watching TV, reading, talking) and socialising (e.g. having a friend visit). Having the Wii on means you can't do these things.
Taking my dad's house as an example: they foster young children and there's a lot of grandchildren running about the house, too. The biggest TV is in the living room and the Wii is under it. However, it only gets switched on during parties (birthdays, Christmas, etc); the rest of the time, the children play in the back room and the adults stay in the front room.
Interestingly, a recent UK poll indicated that over 80% of Wii owners aren't using it on a regular basis:
Wii in bedroom is generally used for Monster Hunter Tri and Netflix.
Opps, I guess that study should be left up to the mobile gaming market...
:P
The living room is for a shared experience, with multiple people, guests, and done where others can see and participate in. It's not so much the games, but the group activity.
no gaming takes place in the bedroom :)
Also...gaming in the bathroom FTW! =)
For instance, the fact that so many Wiis are in the living room could imply that it's mostly being used for "party" situations. Equally, it's a bit surprising to see that the Xbox 360 dominates children's bedrooms - I'd have expected the Wii to take the lead there.
Or it could mean the opposite, who knows, the living room is usually the room with the biggest TV, the DVD/BluRay player is located here.
Taking my dad's house as an example: they foster young children and there's a lot of grandchildren running about the house, too. The biggest TV is in the living room and the Wii is under it. However, it only gets switched on during parties (birthdays, Christmas, etc); the rest of the time, the children play in the back room and the adults stay in the front room.
Interestingly, a recent UK poll indicated that over 80% of Wii owners aren't using it on a regular basis:
12% haven't used it in the last week
23% haven't used it in the last month
48% haven't used it in the last six months
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/292988/news/wii-consoles-gatheri ng-dust-sur
vey-says/
It'd be interesting to see a similar poll for the Xbox 360 and PS3...