The Playstation 2

Ratings guru Nielsen, which has a fledgling gaming popularity/ratings service now, has published its final statistics for April 2009. The shocking conclusion: The most popular game console -- based on minutes spent playing during the course of the month -- is none of the current consoles but rather Sony's venerable PlayStation 2. That's a real testament to the phenomenal staying power of the little black system, with 21.6 percent of all gaming minutes during the month spent playing it.

The three current-generation consoles fall behind the PS2: Xbox 360 (21.1% of all minutes), Wii (17.6%), and PS3 (10.5%) following lock-step. The original Xbox still musters a 6.7 percent share of audience minutes and Nintendo's GameCube 2.6 nabs percent.  In the wake of the news that Xbox 360 games are selling better than those for other consoles, it's not surprising that more minutes are being spent with the 360 than the Wii, but as Nielsen notes, things could change as Nintendo ushers out more original titles for the console later this year.

But seriously: The PS2, still? In 2009? Really? The console is now a whopping nine years old, an age which would make it long since dead and buried in the rapid-fire tech world... and yet it remains the most popular console on the market. Nielsen doesn't say, but I wonder what games people are playing on their PS2s... Grand Theft Auto III?

In related news, Nielsen also notes that in the world of PC gaming, World of Warcraft continues its reign as -- by far -- the most popular PC game on earth. Nearly 44 percent of all PC gaming minutes are spent playing this single title alone, with the average player pouring over 10 hours a week into the online world. A few other titles have even more dedicated players -- Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar gets almost 15 hours a week out of its players -- but they have far, far fewer users.

Now if only they made World of Warcraft for the PlayStation 2...

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/143991

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who would have thought?

I still find it hard to believe, especially since, in the same article, they asserted that the 360 sold more software, which has been disproven has it not?

It will soon be the PS3

lol and people will say the Wii is hardcore but look at the PS3,nearly double the PS3.

I disagree. It will continue to be a battle back and forth for a few more years.

surely they can't be that many people still on analog TV

in the US, its hard to believe but outside the US , its always PS2 , and PS3 is the expensive console that everyone is waiting for the price cut. (and im talking a biiiiiiiiiiigggg price cut)

the PS2 outside US is huge, all thanks to PIRACY and gazillion games

yep. Wii has sold more software. Nielsen is bases solely on a small % of questionaires. I don't put a whole lot of stock into them. If they said 360 with wii in a close 2nd I could believe, but not PS2.

Oops i meant PS3 is supposed to be harcore,but the Wii users spend more time than PS3 owners.