The average household entertainment axis now consists of a television, DVD player and a gaming console. The Nielsen Company announced a Press Release that said their study conducted between 2004 and 2006 found 41.1 percent of households have gaming consoles. In the fourth quarter of 2006 there were 45.7 million homes with video game consoles, compared to 43 million in 2005, and 38.6 million the previous year.
"The video game console has become a major player in the battle for the living room," according to Nielsen's vice president of wireless and interactive services, Jeff Herrmann.
"In households across the country, consoles are successfully competing for consumers' time and attention; not simply as gaming platforms, but as multimedia hubs that also can deliver high quality digital movies and IPTV."
What about online gaming?
World of Warcraft is still the dominating force of online gaming, but Second Life’s real time second life is catching up and Microsoft announced today that Xbox now has more than 6 million gamers worldwide connected to Xbox LIVE. This was a goal they set last year at the E3 convention and have now accomplished four months ahead of schedule. Nintendo introduced three new titles and Activision has now jumped into the web with they’re online gaming investment by acquiring DemonWare.
What will be interesting to see is a study of online games in the household. While gaming consoles have earned their rightful place next to the DVD player, online games have continued to build popularity with bigger, better and more realistic worlds.
Obviously, the demographics of console ownership was partial to age and gender lines - males between 12 and 17 being the group most likely to have access to a console at home, while males between 18 and 34 recorded the second highest penetration level, at 67.7 per cent.
If your feeling any shameful geek thoughts for playing with your Nintendo Wii or Xbox on a Saturday night, let it go because you're not alone.
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