About Electronics

TechDigest: A survey by Nielsen shows that of the 117 million active gamers in the US, 56% play games online, and of those, 64% are women.

Active gamers were determined as being over 13, having at least one games device, and playing at least one hour of games each week. Men outnumber women gamers overall, but not online.

The survey also looked at casual gamers, who tend to jump around from free demo to free demo without any particular loyalty, and found that they spent around £5 (around €7) per month on gaming.

More dedicated gamers such as those playing World of Warcraft spent around £15 (€22) per month, though a lot of that would presumably be for ongoing subscriptions. At the top of the pile came Xbox 360 owners who spent around £20 (€30) per month.

Most console owners have at least one platform for playing games – either more than one console or a console and a PC. The Playstation 2 took most market share, with 59%, followed by Xbox’s of all generations at 33%. The GameCube came in at 30%.

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So far, Sony’s PlayStation 2 was the undisputed market leader in the video game console business. Microsofts Xbox and the GameCube by Nintendo didn’t come even close.

According to a report by DFC Intelligence however, it’s red alert for Sony and its upcoming console. The PlayStation 3 promises to be rather costly for young gamers. The PS3 would sell at 499 euro, whereas the Xbox 360 for instance already sells at 299 euro.

Sony on the other hand claims the price tage is justified, since the PS3 is equipped with a Blu-ray drive. In November 2006 we’ll know who’s right…

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