...and the most popular video game console today is: PlayStation 2!

Tue Jun 16, 2009 4:30PM EDT

See Comments (55)

File under what?

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...

Comments on ...and the most popular video game console today is: PlayStation 2!

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 6 Posted by scottiecordes on Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:57AM EDT Report Abuse

    @jankovicf...been there, done that. After doing this time and time again, and stuff not being removed, I gave up...not wasting my time anymore. *sigh*

  • 7 Posted by gt4569a on Wed Jun 17, 2009 2:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    to clarify- all currently available PS3 models will not play PS2 games?

  • 8 Posted by blleffler on Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    gtodaddy73 no in april the ps2 outsold the nextgen systems

  • 9 Posted by rosasartcenter on Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    I still play the ps2 when I have spare time. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is still the best game..... the graphics aren't as good as GTA 4, but who wants to play a russian immigrant, when I can be a south central thug who runs rampant in the greatest state of them all? I'll never buy XBOX, Windows is lame, and so is Microsoft. Playstation for life

  • 10 Posted by hellogoodbye216 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    the only reason for the system being sold so easily is because the system is so cheap.. it's like $99 right now for a brand new ps2 system. yes they still make like plenty of games for the ps2 because it's easier to sell the cheaper games. right now the economy is so rough, parents come into the game stores to buy something in their budget. either way, ps3 is sucking really bad.. not too many good exciting games coming out on it, and there's not much of a online play experience compared to xb360 live.. so many darn changes to the ps3 makes it harder for the buyer to want it.

  • 11 Posted by nwokeith75 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    if the system is so popular (i still play mines), why are the new games such as Ghostbusters, Road to wrestlemania, and Fight Night round 4 are not being made for the console?

  • 12 Posted by jsnides on Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:09PM EDT Report Abuse

    hellogoodbye216 are you kidding me on games coming out. They have a a bunch coming out. God of war, grand turismo, The last guardian, Heavy rain, Mag, FF, MW2 and fat princess

  • 13 Posted by mrjapena on Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    floating point decimal algorithm...........ooooh yeahhhh

  • 14 Posted by mgast75 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    But does this mean the PS2 is the best system you can get today? Not by a long shot. What kind of crappy story is this? You forgot to mention how old it is. It's the least supported system, next to the PSP. Seriously, Rock Band 2 for the PS2 doesn't even have online play, which even the Wii does have.

  • 15 Posted by darkangel1703 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    I love every PS system I have... from the original big, grey box to the slim-line PS2.. Ahh memories! lol

  • 17 Posted by jbrad5423567 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    times are tough high quality games for 5 bucks core system for 50 bucks why not

  • 18 Posted by phoenixmg2000 on Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    I recently sold my PS2 and got a PS3. I lucked out and got the Metal Gear 4 bundle which is backwards compatible with PS & PS2 games. I'm not surprised by this article at all. The PS2 has a huge base, even though the Gamecube & XBox were more powerful than it was. When the prices for the current gen systems become more attractive to the mainstream consumer, the PS2 will start fading.

  • 19 Posted by matthewusedom on Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:24AM EDT Report Abuse

    i still play my ps2 all the time (gta:vc, san andreas, mgs, god of war 1 and 2 and cal of duty, mostly). i own a wii and love playing that too, probably split the time 60-40 in favor of the wii. most ps2 users are probably like me: broke and unwilling to spend on the ps3 or xbox360 until the prices of the systems and games get more reasonable. heck, now that i think about, my friends and i play my nintendo 64 every couple of months, too (goldeneye, baby!)

  • 20 Posted by uziman477 on Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:53AM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a PS2, and a PS3, I like my PS3, but since it's the 120 gig, I play my PS2 games on it. I don't think its going anywhere soon, considering the low price for it, and the wide selection of hit games. The Wii is ok, but it doesn't have a lot of good games, just a bunch of simulators. And I've only touched my 360 about once, I don't like how I have to pay for online gaming.

  • 21 Posted by reddeye5 on Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:02AM EDT Report Abuse

    This is an awesome statement that people fail to recognize. The PS2 was way ahead of it's time,..and still to this day commands salutations. But maybe you X-boxers and Wii wees should take a hint and realize that the PS3 has technology that blows everything away. If you have any knowledge of Computers,..proccesors and all of the ilk that comes with that knowledge,..take a look at the system specs,...theres nothing that it can't do.

  • 22 Posted by mvitale1980 on Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:04AM EDT Report Abuse

    i got rid of my ps2 when i got my 360. wish i had kept it. its just good mindless fun. i throughly enjoyed the gun con games (i had all the time crisis games.) those were the good old days when gaming didnt seem like a second job.

  • 23 Posted by mvitale1980 on Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:04AM EDT Report Abuse

    i got rid of my ps2 when i got my 360. wish i had kept it. its just good mindless fun. i throughly enjoyed the gun con games (i had all the time crisis games.) those were the good old days when gaming didnt seem like a second job.

  • 24 Posted by lock67ca on Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:21AM EDT Report Abuse

    The biggest thing holding the PS3 back is the price. As long as it's the most expensive system on the market, it will continue to lag behind even its older brother. C'mon Sony, lower the price!

  • 25 Posted by lilchynaroze on Thu Jun 18, 2009 3:25AM EDT Report Abuse

    Since the price of the 360 and PS3 are still way too high for the sup'ed up system, I refuse to buy them until they drop the prices....it's a recession, man. So I've been reliving all of my old PS2 games. I can't believe how fast I forgot how they played...which is good. I just got finished playing a little Final Fantasy X-2.

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.