Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Xbox 360 gets more hours, but Wii streams more video

Geoff Duncan
By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Media metrics firm Nielsen has released new data on how consumers use Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii gaming consoles—and while some of the data is self-reported by respondents, some is gathered using an equivalent to Nielsen’s “people meter” technology to gather information about console usage. Nielsen finds the Xbox 360 users aged 13 years or older spend more time per week with their gaming system than PlayStation 3 or Wii users—4.9 hours per week, compared to 4.1 hours and 1.4 hours per week, respectively—but that the PlayStation 3 beats out the Xbox 360 in terms of watching movies from discs, and the Nintendo Wii beats both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in terms of how much time users spend watching streaming video. Overall, Nielsen finds consumers’ usage of each console has unique patterns.

According to Nielsen, some 69 percent of Wii owners say they use their consoles to play games, with that figure dropping to 62 percent of Xbox 360 owners and just 49 percent for PlayStation owners. However, more Xbox 360 users tap into online games, with 28 percent saying they play online, compared to 19 percent of PS3 owners and just 12 percent of Nintendo Wii owners.

Recommended Videos

PlayStation 3 owners are more likely to use their consoles to play movies from discs, with 27 percent saying they play DVD/Blu-ray movies on their PS3, compared to 11 percent who say they watch DVDs on their Xbox systems. (The Wii doesn’t play DVDs or Blu-ray, and the Xbox 360 doesn’t support Blu-ray.)

Related

However, the Wii is the current leader in streaming online video, with 20 percent of time users report spending on their Wii console devoted to streaming online video, compared to 10 percent of users’ time with the Xbox 360 and 9 percent with the PlayStation 3.

The figures suggest that the Xbox 360 console sees the widest variety of use from its owners (summing up game play, online video, and watching movies) as well as the greatest hours of overall use, while the PlayStation 3 succeeds as more of an all-around entertainment device (probably due to having a Blu-ray drive) rather than a strict game console. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Wii—perhaps due to its lower cost and now-disc-free Netflix client—is a surprise standout for tapping into online video as well as game play—but doesn’t seem to command anywhere near the amount of time consumers devote to the Xbox 360 or PS3.

Nielsen says it will have more data on how users of different console manage their time (and money) in their second annual Nielsen 360° Gaming Report, due in January.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Geoff Duncan
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
This console generation isn’t about games or hardware. It’s about services
A character stands below a ship in Starfield.

It’s been over two years since the start of the current console generation, which launched with a rocky start at the end of 2020. You'd think it's been more than long enough to understand what it's all about, but for many, there's still confusion. That might be changing this year. As Tomas Franzese wrote earlier this month, 2023 could be the year where we finally see what games define this generation’s consoles, at least in terms of exclusives. He also noted that games could stop being cross-platform, launching on just current-gen consoles instead of simultaneously on last-gen ones.

While that'll finally give us some memorable games, it doesn't bring us closer to defining the hardware itself. Besides a few extra teraflops and new ultra-fast SSDs, there isn’t much that helps the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S stand out from their predecessors. Sure, the PS5 looks like a giant spaceship, and the Xbox Series X is built like a fridge, but we didn’t know what these devices could offer that the PS4 and Xbox One couldn’t besides some pretty lighting effects and virtually non-existent loading times.

Read more
Microsoft will no longer offer Xbox 360 games via Games with Gold
Marcus Fenix and other COG members of Gears of War.

Microsoft will discontinue Xbox 360 games from its Games with Gold service starting in October 2022. This news comes by way of an email from Microsoft, which was translated by Twitter user Wario64.

Following the removal of Xbox 360 games from Games with Gold, Microsoft will continue to add Xbox One titles for the foreseeable future. The email from Microsoft explains that the company has reached the limits of adding Xbox 360 games.

Read more
Xbox Game Pass is getting more Ubisoft games
Characters from Assassin's Creed Origins talk to each other.

Microsoft today announced more Game Pass games for April and also offered a tease about Ubisoft's future on the popular subscription service.

In a blog post, Microsoft revealed some fresh games coming to the platform throughout the rest of the month. While players can hop into games like F1 2021 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered starting today, some notable hits are coming later this month, including Bugsnax. The charming and vibrant title launched alongside the PlayStation 5 in 2020, but it's now making its way over to Xbox platforms alongside its new (and free) DLC, The Isle of BIGsnax, which will add hours of new content to an already expansive experience.

Read more