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PlayStation (Games) Sony Entertainment Games

PS2 the Most Played Console In 2008 172

Posted by Soulskill from the helps-that-they-sold-140-million-of-them dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In terms of console usage, the aging PS2 still leads the competition, according to data from US research firm Nielsen. Data the company compiled between January and October 2008 shows that the PS2 commanded 31.7 percent of the total number of minutes spent playing consoles. Only 37.9 percent of play time took place on current-gen systems, with the Xbox 360 (17.2 percent) leading the Wii (13.4 percent) and the PS3 (7.3 percent). Users even spent more time playing on the original Xbox (9.7 percent) than the PS3, while Nintendo's GameCube (4.6 percent) wasn't far behind Sony's new console either." World of Warcraft once again topped the most-played PC game list by a large margin. Tetris was the top mobile game, followed by Bejeweled and Guitar Hero III.
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PS2 the Most Played Console In 2008 More

PS2 the Most Played Console In 2008

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  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @07:41AM (#26328347)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Now, to be fair, are you talking the original, the Sears clone, or the repackaged version?

      And sadly, Stella doesn't count, although you can pretty much find the entire library online with a little digging.

  • Minutes spent correlation to items (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Thanshin ( 1188877 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @07:54AM (#26328421)

    During 2009 people have spent large amounts of time in apartments, compared to palaces.

    We consider that odd, as we thought living in a palace would be more enjoyable for most of people. We aparently were wrong, people would rather live in 150m than in 5000m.

    • I know the PS3 is expensive but, come on, a palace joke?

      • Re:Minutes spent correlation to items (Score:5, Insightful)

        by feepness ( 543479 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:11AM (#26328853)

        I know the PS3 is expensive but, come on, a palace joke?

        I think he is referring to the PS2 vs any next generation console. Compared to all the next generation consoles the PS2 is significantly cheaper in both hardware and games. While the PS3 has dropped 33% and the 360 has a stripped down $200 box and the Wii is still $250, the price is still way higher than the previous generation in TCO.

        • I was actually tempted to pick up a gamecube for exactly this reason. They can be had for around fifty quid on eBay with four controllers and a handful of games, and the games are cheap too. And, since the Wii is compatible with both the games adn the controllers, I can then pick up a Wii when they come down in price.

          I remember the end of the C-64 era, when you could pick up games on tape in supermarkets for around 3-5 pounds. Even inflation-adjusted, this is a lot less than games for current consoles,

          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by FredFredrickson ( 1177871 ) *
            As somebody who does mostly PC gaming, I did just this. Stopped at gamestop (oh the horror) and picked up a used game cube.

            Sure, it's last weeks breakfast, but man, for somebody who doesn't really play consoles to begin with, I had a good time with Smash Bros, Zelda games, and DDR Mario Mix.

            I'll probably get a WII in 4 or 5 years when the next gen comes out... that is, if they're not as scarce then as they are now.

            The interesting thing I found about the old gamecube is that I spent just about $50 on the

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by halcyon1234 ( 834388 )

              The interesting thing I found about the old gamecube is that I spent just about $50 on the thing, which is good- but the used games were still damn close to $60 each.

              I hear you. It seems that the good gamecube games are kept high in price because you can play them on the Wii. So Paper Mario isn't an 8-year-old game for an ancient console-- it's a title for a current gen system featuring the company's flagship character. So it's "expensive"

              Used PS2 games are kept a bit high because the console is, as the ar

            • I don't have any of the current consoles. But aren't the downloadable "old games" (and I realize some new games) in the $5 range most of the time?

              I think I've only paid more than $20 for one PS2 game I have (including shipping). They seem to drop down to $20 or lower eventually (even the non-Greatest Hits versions).

              Actually, the removal of the backward compatibility in PS3s makes me likely to delay getting one even further. (I probably will eventually get one, especially to use as a BluRay player.)

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by donaldm ( 919619 )
              I don't live in the US but I have found in Australia Gamecube second hand games stay at a significantly higher price than second hand PS2 games. Comparing PS2 game prices to PS3, Wii and Xbox360 game prices is no contest, the PS2 games are significantly cheaper usually between 30% and 50% and new games are still being made.

              Seems game makers are not terribly interested in the piddly market for the PS3, and so there is no demand to upgrade to the PS3, because PS2 still plays a lot of new games.

              Err where did you get that from, you have been listening to too many fan boys. There are almost 20 million PS3 world wide and considering the Xbox and the Gamecube only reached approx 24

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Endo13 ( 1000782 )

            I highly recommend doing exactly that. There's a handful of games for the Cube that will give you a lot of mileage, especially with friends. You'll probably want to pick up Super Smash Brothers and Mario Party 5 for starters.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by skeeto ( 1138903 )

      Right on. Riding just behind current gen for consoles is the best way to do it. Everything is really cheap, and all the games have been played by lots of people, providing a solid quality filter when making selections. Today, with $100 you could get a PS2 and around 15-20 games for it. PS3 costs don't even come close.

      My fiance did this; she picked up a used PS2 and now we can grab new games for a couple bucks at a GameStop. She also has an old Xbox, so I picked up KotOR 1 and 2 for $~5 each. And I am not ev

    • Well, you're wrong.

      People can /afford/ to live in 500m, vs 5000m.

      Pretty huge distinction there.

  • Wow (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sleeponthemic ( 1253494 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @07:58AM (#26328443) Homepage
    Congratulations to Nielsen on their fully accurate statistical analysis. Particularly obtaining data for predominantly offline consoles.

    • "Congratulations to Nielsen on their fully accurate statistical analysis. Particularly obtaining data for predominantly offline consoles"

      Remember, 87% of all statistics are pulled out of someone's ass. The use of a "fudge factor" comes into play here.

      BTW, let's put it into perspective. The Wii is a lot more demanding, physically, so you're not going to have those 12-hour marathon gaming sessions on your Wii Fit (if you can find a store that has one in stock).

      • Re:Wow (Score:5, Funny)

        by Dadamh ( 1441475 ) <[Dadamh] [at] [gmail.com]> on Monday January 05, 2009 @12:18PM (#26330813)
        I really have to say that combining the phrases "pulled out of someone's ass" and "fudge factor" makes for a really distasteful image.
    • well stated.
      Is there any info on how many play sessions went on? I get the impression that there were more Nintendo Wii parties than PS2 bootups alone.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Atario ( 673917 )

      They have kind of a history of this, seeing as how the vast majority of TVs are still totally bereft of Internet connectivity.

  • PS3 Can Play Games? (Score:5, Funny)

    by craznar ( 710808 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @08:00AM (#26328459) Homepage
    I've had one for a year as a Blu-Ray player and media centre - I never realised you could play games on it. Learn something new every day.

    • I never realised you could play games on it. Learn something new every day.

      You should check out what you're missing. The library has matured and is, well, just there. I can't keep up with the new releases I'm interested in playing at the moment. If you're on a decent screen the experience should be amazing.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Hatta ( 162192 )

        I can't keep up with all the games from the 90s I'm interested in playing at the moment.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by vux984 ( 928602 )

        If you're on a decent screen the experience should be amazing.

        You pretty much sunk your argument when your experience comes down to whether or not you have a 'decent screen'.

        If the game needs a decent screen to be an amazing experience, then its not a terribly good game, although it might have some amazing shiny graphics to distract you from this fact for a while.

    • You should check out what you're missing - I hear they ported Linux to it :-)

      • 20 dollars more per game than the better running pc version of the same game?
        Is that what i am missing?

  • Ah, so this is all based off of what, like 250 families in the US Heartland and what they chose to log in their little Nielson log books?

  • Not surprised (Score:4, Interesting)

    by shrykk ( 747039 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @08:05AM (#26328487)
    I'm not really surprised - the PS2 has a huge software library, plus most owners have several peripherals that still prove useful. This weekend I played some Singstar and Guitar Hero III with friends, and I'd be more likely to buy more PS2 games that use the guitar and mikes, than to buy new peripherals (extra functionality and downloadable content notwithstanding).

    In fact the Singstar game we played was a brand-new copy of the recently-released Singstar ABBA, and everyone loved it.

    You can pick up used PS2 games for a pittance. I remember chatting to a store assistant in a games store, saying he was still always seeing parents come in and picking up PS2s with a bunch of games for the holidays. Console and a load of games well under 100 UK pounds, for which you can't really get another console (perhaps a DS or PSP with one game).

    They're still releasing new games for the PS2, a pretty clear indication that it's still alive. No-one sane would advocate playing a cut-down and graphically poor PS2 Force Unleashed, but it's clearly still economically viable to release it. Though some would say the same for the Wii version [escapistmagazine.com]. And, I don't want to arouse any fanboy ire, but I have a sneaking suspicion that similarities in graphical capabilities between the Wii and PS2 might help the economics of releasing a PS2 port... Anyway, there are a ton of PS2 games that are well worth playing - a brilliant last-generation game beats a mediocre current-gen one.

    Everyone commenting on gaming stories should disclose their console preferences to discourage fanboy-ism. My TV is currently hooked up to a Wii, a PS2 and a Sega Master System.

    • Everyone commenting on gaming stories should disclose their console preferences to discourage fanboy-ism. My TV is currently hooked up to a Wii, a PS2 and a Sega Master System.

      How exactly does listing what you own discurage fanboy posts?

      • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Everyone commenting on gaming stories should disclose their console preferences to discourage fanboy-ism. My TV is currently hooked up to a Wii, a PS2 and a Sega Master System.

        How exactly does listing what you own discurage fanboy posts?

        Pffft, just the kind of comment I'd expect from an Xbox-owner.

        Sony Roolz!1!!11OnetyOneLulz!1!11

    • Console disclosure: own all three current gen systems, and still play my PS2.

      I own the 40GB non-PS2 compatible PS3, though, and so have to switch over to my PS2 to play older games. About a year ago, I purchased a number of late generation PS2 JRPGs, since I had a hankering for them and had already played those that looked interesting to me on the more modern consoles (they seem to all be coming to the 360 now). Persona 4 was recently released, I'm currently wavering on whether I should pick it up (never

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by broken_chaos ( 1188549 )

      And, I don't want to arouse any fanboy ire, but I have a sneaking suspicion that similarities in graphical capabilities between the Wii and PS2 might help the economics of releasing a PS2 port...

      The PS2 is graphically less capable than a GameCube. Any developer who is lazy enough to only dress up a PS2 game (considering the Xbox360 and the Wii both use DVDs - alleviating any storage space considerations) is not using the console to anywhere near it's full potential. Sure, it's not high-def (resolution equal

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shrykk ( 747039 )

        The PS2 is graphically less capable than a GameCube. Any developer who is lazy enough to only dress up a PS2 game (considering the Xbox360 and the Wii both use DVDs - alleviating any storage space considerations) is not using the console to anywhere near it's full potential.

        You're almost certainly right - but I put it to you that developers don't always exploit consoles' full potential. Take some multi-platform franchise, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, maybe the Wall-E game or something like that, and y

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Endo13 ( 1000782 )

        The PS2 is graphically less capable than a GameCube.

        Which unfortunately isn't saying much. The Game Cube did have a bit more graphics horsepower, but not by a huge margin. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain the Wii uses more or less the same graphics hardware as the Game Cube.

        Now I know that doesn't sound like it, but I actually am more or less a Nintendo fanboy. The only new consoles I've ever purchased are Nintendo. Game Boy, GBC, GBA, DS, Game Cube, and Wii.

        Basically what this story more or less reinforces is that most people care more ab

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by UserChrisCanter4 ( 464072 ) *
          And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain the Wii uses more or less the same graphics hardware as the Game Cube.

          You're wrong. Although the official specs on the Wii's GPU (which is actally multiple chips on the package that handle I/O and sound in addition to video) are under wraps, it is definitely more powerful. Most indications point to it being based on the same architecture to maintain backwards compatibility, but it has a substantially higher clock rate (~240 mhz vs. 162 mhz on the Game
        • >Wii uses more or less the same graphics hardware as the Game Cube.
          The Wii is supposed to be 50% more powerful (which isn't saying much). Most developers still use Gamecube devkits for Wii games so they are by and large very similar architectures.
    • I picked up Singstar ABBA for the PS3. With the most recent patch, it can play the old PS2 Singstar discs, and the same microphones work for it. My wife's more likely to play it when it's up in our family room than down on the PS2 in the basement. (Hey, I like hearing her sing, she's good.)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by IorDMUX ( 870522 )
      Agreed. I am certainly a Nintendo fanboy, but I am one of those pushing the PS2 stat through the roof, for just the reasons you mentioned.

      I own an NES with 60+ games (though ~15 are $1 total-crap-games), an N64 with ~25 games, and a PS2 with 5 PS2 and 4 PS1 games. Over the past few months I have disproportionally favored the PS2, pouring hours into Final Fantasy X, FF XII, Deus Ex, Burnout: Revenge, and the Mega Man X collection. I picked up the system used with controllers and memory cards for $40 US

      • the graphics on FF XII and Burnout: Revenge are comparable to early PS3 graphics, as long as you don't have an HDTV) games...

        Ugh... I was right with you (I've been doing the same thing), but I couldn't let this one slide. I run my games in standard resolution (all three current-gen consoles + PS2), but on a reasonably large screen (it's pre HDMI, and the component-based HD modes flicker, so I can't really use them). Yes, I've played FF XII, and it's a great looking game on the PS2, but...

        There is a MASSIVE different between the worst looking PS3 / Xbox 360 games and the best PS2 games in terms of graphics. Keep in mind, this i

    • We've been slouching towards a recession for awhile, the PS3 and XBOX 360 were horribly expensive for what they do, the PS2 still plays great games and has a large user base... plus, it's what? Under $130 dollars?

      My son has been asking for one of the next gen consoles, and I just won't buy one right now. I see I'm not the only one taking a stand on the price issue. If we get anything new next year, likely it'll be a Wii so that the whole family can participate. Lots of other customers seem to be thinking th

  • I'm curious if this includes time on the actual console or if backwards compatibility is counted? If I play PS2 on PS3 or Gamecube on Wii does that go to PS2 or Gamecube?

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by dontPanik ( 1296779 )

      I believe this is by console. I participated in a part of the survey by phone and the questions were directed towards hardware and not software.

      • I participated in a part of the survey by phone

        Out of curiosity, was it via landline or cell phone? I know a lot of households are dropping landlines, so I wonder how much that can skew such a survey.

  • Number of games vs consoles vs time spent (Score:3, Interesting)

    by 4D6963 ( 933028 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @08:52AM (#26328773)

    Translation : people spend the most time on the console they've got the most games for.

    Would have been interesting if they tried to correlate the number of games owned per console vs. the time spent on each console, and see what the difference is between generations (i.e. if you have 10 Xbox 1 games and 10 Xbox 360 games you'll probably spend more time on the Xbox 360, but how much longer?)

    • Not sure if I buy that. I have something like 50 SNES games and 40 N64 games, but only 15 DS games, but I play my DS more than anything. I think the translation is that people play newer systems more, but that they take a few years to reach the point where enough gamers have them to play.

      • You are comparing apples to oranges. The DS has a different form factor and resource requirements.

        You can easily take the DS anywhere you want and, (especially important in a multi-person household), you don't need to tie-up the TV to use it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by 4D6963 ( 933028 )
        You'd be more likely to buy it if you had read the whole post rather than just the first line. Read the last sentence.

  • In other news (Score:3, Funny)

    by SupremoMan ( 912191 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:05AM (#26328823)

    Scientists were shocked to discovered that when PS3 was released all PS2 consoles around the worlds did not spontaneously explode!

    Maybe Sony should build them less sturdy? I mean who ever heard of electronic device that can lasts for 5, hell 10 years!

    • Scientists were shocked to discovered that when PS3 was released all PS2 consoles around the worlds did not spontaneously explode!

      I think the surprise is that penetration of the new consoles into the market is not greater. Since there's surprise, this probably means that the uptake of new systems is moving more slowly than with previous generations. I think this will be shown as a product of extremely expensive consoles, a dysfunctional economy with increased job insecurity, and the sheer penetration of the PS2, the best-selling console ever. Lots of people are able to justify putting off the upgrades because it's "good enough" and th

      • As a PSone owner, I attempted to buy a PS2 on it's US launch on Oct 26 2000, but couldn't get one due to the shortages, I finally was able to find one in stores in March 2001.

        As a PS2 owner I did not attempt to get a PS3 on launch day. Not that I didn't want one, but considering the game library and the price, I wasn't in a rush, the PS2 was good enough. I finally got a PS3 last July. Sony needs to get more RPG's on the PS3, then all those PS2 RPG fans will have a reason to get PS3's.

    • Early model PS2's the 10001's and 30001's, are prone to DRE's (Disc Read Errors) after a few years, the bane of any PS2 owner. Later model PS2's are the sturdy ones, the 50001's and 70001's.

    • Scientists were shocked to discovered that when PS3 was released all PS2 consoles around the worlds did not spontaneously explode!

      So mine was the only one? That figures.

    • hint to sony, bring out another ps3 with backward compatibility and sales might jump up again.
      There is a shitload of ps2 owners who simply did not upgrade because there was no upgrade option!

    • You can get new PS2 games still, and shops like Game(station) here in the UK also sell them second hand in 3-for-£5 like offers. But Xbox 1 games have vanished. From the bargain sections of supermarket Entertainment ailes to the big stores like HMV and Virgin, which is probably to be expected as there aren't any new Xbox 1 games any more, but the freaky part is that aforementioned Game doesnt stock the second hand Xbox 1 games anymore either!

      I'd really like to know where the big pile-o unwanted X1 and

  • Not that surprising (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Spatial ( 1235392 ) on Monday January 05, 2009 @09:29AM (#26328959)
    Considering how well it sells:
    PS2: 140 million
    Wii: 45 million
    360: 27 million
    PS3: 19 million

    As of 2006, it was still the best selling console. I don't know about the last two years but I'm guessing it isn't doing too badly.
    • While the PS2 has sold the most, it has also been out far longer. "Most sold" is not the same as "best selling" if you mean "best selling now" which is what that phrase usually means. In fact, Wii has outsold the PS2 [vgchartz.com] since the Wii has been released, which means the PS2 has never been "best selling" compared to the Wii except before the Wii existed. Even the XBOX360 outsells the PS2.

  • I thought IBM discontinued the PS/2 15 years ago. It's amazing people are still using them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      I thought IBM discontinued the PS/2 15 years ago.

      That joke was old by the time the GameCube came out in the fourth quarter of 2001.

  • Two things

    PS2 users are more likely to have a bigger library of games because they're are more of them, they are cheaper and there has been more time to accumulate them.

    people with more time than money (esp kids) are relatively more likely to be PS2 users
    people with more money than time are relatively more likely to have newer consoles

    this doesn't seem like a strange result to me.

  • Sega Dreamcast is what it's all about!

  • PS3 got the shaft (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Jahf ( 21968 )

    I've got a 360 (admittedly only because work wanted me to have it for a demo) and a PS3. I bought the PS3 for BluRay but I find myself playing on it more and more.

    I have played on the 360 a good bit, but I find it is loud and I like having controllers on the PS3 that are rechargeable without buying more stuff. I also find that, oddly, the PS3 controller works better for me. I thought the 360 controller was better at first due to the way it seemed to fit my hands better. But it is heavier and the battery pac

    • Overall I think the PS3 is a great box that never caught on

      Yup. Maybe it still will, as the graphics start to get better than the 360 and developers have an easier time working with it, but the window for that is closing.

      For my purposes it's a really good fit. It's more expensive to start, but it's all-inclusive (no extra $100 for wifi, etc.) and there's no ongoing costs like XBox Live. It plays media well, Blu-ray is nice (for F/X heavy movies), on a nice big screen (and with the keypad) it's actually a

      • I've had essentially the exact experience as you. All around (now that the library has finally started picking up some steam), it's an excellent console. I was an original Xbox owner, only console I've ever owned. Got the PS3 as a Blu-ray player, and found out quite accidentally about its strengths as a media center console (hint: it's amazing). Add to that the library of games has finally gotten interesting (I'll admit it was a wasteland for the first year), and I'm pretty pleased with it.

        Unfortunately,
      • >developers have an easier time working with it
        All the developers I know badmouth Sony big time for their lack of support. A friend told me that as a rule of thumb, if you contact Sony dev support with an issue, they get back around 3-4 weeks later with an email saying "it's in the manuals". Microsoft usually get back within 3-7 hours and often with code examples or a workaround.

    • My gf has a Wii that we played alot over Christmas and it has alot of family-style gaming capability. However they weren't games I'd pick to play solo.

      Heh, that's funny, because when people come over and see I have a wii, they're always rather shocked that I don't have any multi-player or party games other than wii sports. :)

  • Would be interesting to see just how much the NDS is trouncing the PSP. Just in this household me & my wife own one each; my in-laws have 2 more; and virtually in every home with teens that we visited last summer, there was 1 for every 2 kids on average or possibly more.

  • Especially when they try to claim, with a straight face, that anything other than WoW has more playtime/players than Counter-strike and CS:S.

    What i'd really like to see is a real count of WoW's actual individuals online at a given moment and not how many ACCOUNTS they have active at a given moment.

  • ...and this is exactly why Sony has shot itself in the foor by removing backwards compatibility from the PS3.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Thag ( 8436 )

      Seriously, with BC, upgrading to the PS3 from the PS2 is a pretty obvious choice.

      Without it, if you're going to upgrade to something that can't play PS2 games, why not a 360?

      I know several people who were once interested in the PS3, but completely lost interest once they found out you can't get PS/2 BC any more. They're in wait-and-see mode now, waiting for Sony to bring back BC.

      Though, they still play PS1 games, FWIW.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kaffiene ( 38781 )

        Yup - I totally agree. I'm in the same boat and in fact I recently bought a second PS2 (first one had a dodgy power supply) and some wireless controllers rather than buy a PS3 SOLELY because of the lack of PS2 backwards compatibility. I would MUCH rather have bought a PS3 with BC - because I really wanted little big planet and MGS4, but without the BC it's not an option for me because I'm not going to have multiple consoles around the TV - that area's complicated enough as it is!

  • I know I'm not getting a PS3 until it's been broken (same with the PSP slim), I'm not getting a 360 because it's Microsoft, and I'm not getting a Wii because my friend lets me borrow his because I chipped it.

    I'll be damned if I'll ever buy a game again without knowing if it's worth it first.

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