Nielsen Study Claims Gamers Choosing Streaming Over DVD

Another new video gaming study, this time from well-known research company Nielsen, has found that online streaming is growing fast as a key use of games consoles, proving Microsoft’s recent desire to launch a dedicated home entertainment console as a valid plan.

As part of a preview of the third edition of their annual ’360° Gaming Report’ in the USA, Nielsen have announced some key statistics taken from the three main games consoles (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii).

As the charts in the picture demonstrate, online streaming is increasing from last year’s figures, with the average PS3 user spending 15% of their console time viewing online video content (as opposed to 9% from the 2010), while Xbox 360 (14%, up from 10% last year) and Wii (33%, 20% in 2010) users have also been streaming more content to view.

For the Xbox, this means that users are now preferring to view content online rather than through physical media such as DVD’s (with the Blu-ray-applicable PS3′s differential between the two sources closing in fast), while the Wii’s higher comparitive standing can be explained by the fact that Nintendo’s console does not support Blu-ray or DVD.

Despite the rapid growth of streaming, though, gaming (online and offline) is still naturally the primary use of a video games console, with 67% of an Xbox 360 user’s console time dedicated to the purpose for which it was originally built.

Nielsen’s official blog said of the findings: “Streaming now represents a reported 14 percent of Xbox 360 time, 15 percent of PS3 time and 33 percent of Wii time. This growth is fueled by the availability of services like Netflix, Hulu, MLB Network and ESPN3. Time spent on game consoles in general is also on the rise. Metered console usage data from the first half of 2011 shows that the three platforms combined are up 7 percent in user time versus the year prior.”

While the three consoles are generally in direct competition with each other, Nielsen also notes that all of them seem to have a distinctive trait in usage statistics, with the Xbox 360 focused the most on online gaming, the Wii with offline games, and the PS3′s higher usage of physical media. While these trends are unsurprising given the long-standing nature of each console, could current growth see online streaming soon become the dominant activity for all three ‘home entertainment devices’?

Crazy Matt Cazzy into all things hi-tech, gizmos and gadgets. If its just out, i want it. Loves watching tv on every device ever invented that can handle it

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