TheBigFatJ on 10 March 2009
The original source is the NPD report, but the Ars article has some interesting analysis and quotes:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/03/npd-group-online-gaming-rising-wii-beats-out-ps3.ars
The number three slot is where we go into the twilight zone: last year 18 percent of online gamers played on the Wii, and this year it's 29 percent. That's quite the leap, and it puts the Nintendo Wii above the PlayStation 3 for online play. With numbers like this, it's time for publishers to start taking the Wii much more seriously as an online platform, as gamers are already comfortable bringing the system online.
While the PC still sits far above its console competition, the Xbox 360 and Wii show just how powerful gaming consoles can be in the world of online gaming.
That's pretty impressive. Publishers and developers definitely do need to start taking the Wii more seriously, especially for online usage. 20,000 gamers were polled. About 25% (~5,000) of them played online. Here are the percentages of those who gamed online with each of the following platforms:
PC: 87% (about 4,350 of the 5,000)
360: 50% (about 2,500 of the 5,000)
Wii: 29% (about 1,450 of the 5,000)
PS3: 20% (about 1,000 of the 5,000)
