Ben-DutkaIf you had any doubts as to the PS2's longevity, the latest Nielsen findings will erase them. The Nielsen Company has released their year-end findings on the top consumer trends in the US in 2007, and the study included all kinds of things (music downloads, TV programs, ring tones, general consumer purchasing trends, etc). As it turns out, the PS2 remains the top gaming console, even with all three "next-gen" systems available throughout the year.
The results are clear- about 42.2% of all time spent playing consoles in 2007 has been spent with the PlayStation 2. This gives it a significant lead over any other console; the Xbox finished a distant second at 13.9% and the Xbox 360 followed up in third at 11.8%. The PS3 was dead last, and there was a special "Other" category for any other "consoles found in the home," which actually sat at 17.1%. All this really means is that not everybody has been able to embrace the new generation just yet, and the PS2 continues its stranglehold on the video game market. Remember, Sony isn't done putting out games for their "old" system – many, many more are scheduled into 2008 – so perhaps these numbers shouldn't be surprising.
Obviously, we expect a big shift in 2008, what with so many gamers deciding to leap into a new generation this holiday season. Well, at least we hope many will…now's the time! The PS2 was and still is a great system, to be sure, but you can move on…right?