In the U.S., and probably elsewhere in the world in the territories where gaming is popular, games consoles are the primary platform for viewing online video content on a television set. Who needs games when you have a world of digital content at your fingertips?
A Prediction Proved
If you watch online video on your TV then the chances are you do so using a games console. At least according to new data from a market research firm. Which really should come as no surprise as it was a trend we foresaw happening way back in February 2009.
It was then I wrote an article primarily about more content coming to the Xbox 360 but also suggesting that games consoles were becoming “important drivers of online video” and helping make the sector “mainstream and accessible to all.” Both predictions have been proven correct in the two years since that article appeared here on WebTVWire.
Games Consoles Sans Games
According to Strategy Analytics, 12 percent of U.S. households (15 million or so) watch online video using a games console. This is more than the percentage who hook a PC up to their TV via an HDMI cable. All three current-gen games consoles, the Xbox 360, the PS3, and the Wii, can be hooked up to the Internet for online gaming and more.
A surprising 65 percent of those who are under the age of 25 and who use their Xbox 360s on a weekly basis watch more television and movies via their console than their computer. Which is an astonishing statistic showing not only how easy it is to watch video content on the Xbox 360 but also how prone to doing so the younger generation is.
Conclusions
These stats suggest that games consoles are THE way of delivering video content to people in their living rooms. Who needs another set-top box such as Apple TV or Google TV when a PS3, Wii, or Xbox 360 does the job already? And with next-gen consoles on the way this is a trend set to continue into the future.
[Via CNET]
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