PS2 the Most Played Console In 2008 172
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.
Re:Not surprised (Score:2, Informative)
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 to a DVD) or as powerful as the PS3 or 360, but it's not that far behind.
Re:Is this by console or by actual game? (Score:2, Informative)
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.
Re:Minutes spent correlation to items (Score:4, Informative)
Re:PS3 Can Play Games? (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, the PS3 is a waste of money as a game system. Enjoy your long load times and shitty online play!
Re:Not surprised (Score:3, Informative)
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 Gamecube).
Even if we assume that absolutely nothing else changed on the Wii graphics hardware - which is a reasonable assumption - a nearly 70% bump in clock rate is a pretty big change if we're talking about the same architecture.
Re:Wow (Score:4, Informative)
Re:PS3 Can Play Games? (Score:3, Informative)
How the hell is the parent flamebait? Hurt a poor Sony fanboi's feelings?
LittleBigPlanet is at best a tech demo. Strip out the whiz-bang 3D graphics and realize that the amazing physics engine really isn't amazing, and you've got a sidescroller that compares with Super Mario Bros. and is about as controllable.
Then you've got the level editor. Great. The most amazing levels have been, essentially, mechanical computers, and they're only amazing because of the shear amount of abuse required to make the level work. The rest of the community levels seem to be devoted to earning trophies with as little effort as possible.
The sales of Valkyria Chronicles speak for itself. There's a reason no one is buying it.
If you've played the Mirror's Edge demo, you're aware that it's crap. If you haven't, let Yahtzee educate you [escapistmagazine.com].
And if you like Rock Band, you're playing it on the Xbox 360, the platform it was designed for. Every other platform is a port. (Just ask Harmonix themselves - they write for the Xbox 360 first, and then port to other platforms.) If you bought a PS3 to play Rock Band, you're an idiot, pure and simple. The Xbox 360 is cheaper and Rock Band is designed for it. The PS3 version is an afterthought, and the PS2/Wii versions have issues with downloadable content - the Wii mainly with incredibly restrictive available storage space, and the PS2 with the lack of a harddrive on any current model.
Re:Minutes spent correlation to items (Score:3, Informative)
"over $300k"? Really *much* over $300k. You can get some 1 bedroom condos in the $300k range. $500k+ is where houses are in the SF Bay Area, and that's after the prices having gone down.