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 Unlike their appeal in the past, video games aren't just for kids these days. Nielsen//NetRatings announced Tuesday (March 13) that more than one in every three U.S. adults who go online, or 37 percent, own a video game console and 16 percent own a portable gaming device.
And of those 37 percent, 71 percent are married and 66 percent have at least one child in the household, according to Reuters.
"As game consoles have become increasingly sophisticated, families have incorporated them into their centralized home media centers, which include the television, digital recording device, digital music player and the PC," said Carolyn Creekmore, senior director of media analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings.
Both leading game console producers, Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp., have turned their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles into more than just your average gaming console. They are now entertainment hubs for gaming, music and photo viewing. Both companies are amid a fierce battle for dominance in the $30 billion global videogame market.
Sony's PS3 comes equipped with a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player, and sells for $500 or $600 in the United States, depending on the size of the unit's hard drive.
Nintendo jumped back into the market share with the release of its Wii in January, leading sales of consoles that month in the U.S., but their machine is more basic, boasting a motion-sensing controller that has received rave reviews.
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