According a new study (yet another!) there's an age difference between the customers who purchase the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The study, from Experian Consumer Research, states that the Xbox 360 appeals most to gamers 35-44 years-old, while the PS3 appeals to folks 45 years-old and up. And the Wii? According to the study, that console appeals to those aged 18-24 years-old. The control group apparently was made up of "new media respondents" (bwah?) who were defined as those who spend more than an hour online each week.

NEW YORK, NY -- 06/19/08 -- Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 continue to be amongst the most popular video game consoles, so taking an in-depth look at the consumers who purchase these consoles is beneficial to any company looking to tap into the video game market.

Experian Consumer Research recently found while differences exist between these gamers and the general consumer population, there are also differences between consumers who bought Xbox 360 and those who bought PlayStation 3. One such difference is the age range of consumers who purchase the consoles, with PlayStation appealing to an older crowd and Xbox being favored amongst younger gamers. Since all gamers in general are not identical in their preferences, awareness of these differences in the consumer population is important when trying to reach specific consumers through video games. Similarities between the two consumer populations have also been found, such as comparable media preferences.

Video game technology continues to improve, meaning that video games are not going to be outdated anytime soon. On the contrary, video games are now appealing to more and more people and growing in popularity with a wider age range. Being aware of the characteristics of gamers of all types and will be beneficial to companies trying to reach this consumer segment.

These and other characteristics of consumers who purchase Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 can be viewed in the Free Download.

Experian Consumer Research is the Home of Simmons, the Voice of the American Consumer(TM) for over 50 years, and delivers the full suite of Simmons products and services. It is a full service, market and consumer research organization dedicated to enabling clients to optimize communications with their customers and prospects across multiple channels by providing a robust description of the American Consumer. For more information, visit www.experianconsumerresearch.com.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/who-are-the-xbox-360,440048.shtml

A new study out today by Experian Consumer Research concluded there are differences between consumers who purchased the PS3 and those who purchased the Xbox 360. The biggest difference being that while the Xbox 360 appeals the most to gamers who are 35-44, the PS3 appeals to the more senior demographic of 45 and up. The study also finds that youngsters ages 18-24 prefer the Nintendo Wii. Finally, the study uses "new media respondents" as a control group, defined as those who spend more than one hour online per week.

This study doesn't tell us anything we don't already know; they don't state any specific numbers in their press release and the presentation you can download basically concludes that there are no differences between PS3 owners and 360 owners except for age. After seeing a sample of their rudimentary research, if we were a company looking for statistics to help us market to gamers, we'd stay away from them.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/06/19/ps3-most-appealing-to-those-over-44-years-old/

So what do you own?

I think its pretty common sense that the Wii is in front of the youngest chunk of the demo...and that Xbox is usually the 15-25yr old console of choice, and PS3 is the 25+ (just rough numbers based on the research that came out recently).

For the most part 30yr old males are not lining up to play mario kart...just not how it is...and 10 yr olds' parents are not buying them GTAIV or MGS4...