The 360 a software monster? The Wii a software wimp? I don't think so...

[theRepublic]

There have been a lot of arguments on this forum over which console sells more software.  Most of the time, you see the term attach ratio or tie ratio.  This ratio is obtained by dividing the amount of software sold by the number of consoles sold.  While an attach ratio is a simple calculation, it does not tell the whole story.  The most glarring problem is that it does not account for the fact that the 360 has been out longer than the other two consoles.

The best way to get arround this problem is to use a different statistic.  The best way to compare the consoles is by using Total Weeks of Ownership, or TWO.  As far as I know, Sqrl was the first person to develop this stat and he used it in this post here.  As Sqrl explains in his post, TWO is better because it not only reflects how many people own a console, but also how long they have owned the console.  This is important because software is not purchased all at once, but over time during the life of the console.

In his post, Sqrl uses percentages to try and compare the consoles.  Although it gives a decent view of what is going on, I think there is a better way.  By dividing TWO by the total amount of software sold, we can obtain the average number of weeks between software purchases (I haven't come up with any good abreviations for this so any suggestions are welcome).  The average number of weeks between software purchases can then be compared between the three consoles.

The first graph has been aligned by date, and is for the whole world.

The second graph has been aligned from launch, and is also for the whole world.

The big drops that can be seen in the graphs are the holiday periods.  The smaller drops are big games like GTA IV or MGS 4.  This is to be expected, since a lot of software is sold during these times.

What most people would not expect however, is that the average Wii owner buys games more often then the average 360 owner.  Currently, the average Wii owner has bought a game once every 9.07 weeks, the average PS3 owner has bought a game once every 9.47 weeks, and the average 360 owner has bought a game every 9.75 weeks.  Historically, the Wii owners have always been buying games at the fastest rate, and 360 owners have been buying games at the slowest rate.  PS3 owners have been in the middle.

This new information challenges some of the "common sense" that has been preached on this forum.

Maybe the "hardcore gamers" don't buy as many games as we assumed they did.
Maybe the "casual gamers" buy more games than we assumed they did.
Maybe the 360 and PS3 owners are not as "hardcore" as some thought.
Maybe the Wii owners are not as "casual" as some thought.

Do "hardcore" and "casual" even mean anything anymore?

Whatever the answer, it is clear that some of our assumptions about the market were wrong and need to change.  Wii owners are buying games at a faster rate than everyone else.  360 owners are buying games at a slower rate than everyone else.  Somehow, we did not see this before.  What else does this new info change?

Please discuss, and feel free to ask any questions about my methodology.

(All numbers came from the Worldwide Weekly Chart here at VG Chartz.)