And the most popular console online is...

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 11 March 2009 08:41

Your IT - Entertainment

...no surprise really, but the NPD Group’s 2009 report on Online Gaming has thrown up some trends of interest when it comes to our connected entertainment options.

Research firm NPD Group has released the results of their Online Gaming 2009 survey.  The survey is pretty much U.S-centric, with respondents taken from more than 20,000 members of NPD’s online consumer panel.

Unsurprisingly Microsoft’s Xbox 360 tops the field of connected game consoles, racking up 50 percent of respondents.  Next up, perhaps more surprisingly, but probably through weight of numbers, comes the Nintendo Wii at 29 percent. 

The Sony flagship PlayStation 3 fills third place.

"This is a testament to the strength of Xbox 360, both overall, and particularly in the online gaming sphere," the report states.

Despite a decline, the PC remains the online favourite, online gaming for home consoles and portable devices climbed from 19 per cent in 2008 to 25 per cent in 2009.

“Online gaming is enjoyed by a diverse group of players," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst for NPD. "The sheer variety of content and ease of access makes online gaming attractive to a much larger demographic than what we typically see in retail."

On the subject of demographics, the report concluded that gamers aged 13-17 YO represented 22 percent of those online in 2009, whilst the older onliners are dropping off slightly.