DS trouncing PSP, PS3 edging Wii: part 1 of 2

[part 1] [part 2]

With the Christmas present season upon us and New Year sales soon to come, DIMSDRIVE Research took a timely look at ownership of portable games machine. Over a week in the middle of November 7,508 people from their monitor group successfully completed an internet-based questionnaire. 44.8% of the sample was male, 64.9% married, and 51.7% had children. By age, 1.1% were in their teens, 16.6% in their twenties, 37.1% in their thirties, 27.7% in their forties, 12.7% in their forties, and 4.8% aged sixty or older.

The fad for brain training amongst the elderly is still apparent in this survey, although one must remember that since this poll is conducted amongst people who are internet users, and since internet use is presumably lower amongst the elderly, it would be foolish to draw too many conclusions about the whole over-fifty age group from the results presented here.

Looking at Q4A, there is perhaps the suggestion that people are using the PSP as not just a games machine, but also as a music or video player when they are out and about.

Q1: Which portable games machines do you have? (Sample size=7,508, multiple answer)

Other Game Boy (Advance, etc)	24.1%
Nintendo DS	17.9%
Nintendo DS Lite	14.4%
PSP (PlayStation Portable)	10.7%
Game Boy Micro	1.6%
Other	1.2%
None (to Q9)	55.0%

Q2: Which games machine do you use the most? (Sample size=3,377)

Nintendo DS	28.9%
Nintendo DS Lite	28.0%
Other Game Boy (Advance, etc)	13.8%
PSP	11.0%
Game Boy Micro	0.7%
Other	0.4%
None of them (to Q10)	17.2%

Q3: About how often do you use that machine? (Sample size=2,782)

	All	DS N=975	DS Lite N=946	PSP N=373
Every day	22.0%	21/9%	31.8%	14.7%
Five or six times a week	8.4%	8.4%	11.1%	8.3%
Three or four times a week	12.9%	16.3%	14.3%	13.1%
Once or twice a week	24.0%	25.7%	23.5%	24.8%
Twice or thrice a month	13.2%	11.9%	10.7%	19.0%
Once a month	6.4%	5.7%	4.3%	6.2%
Once every two or three months	4.3%	3.9%	1.7%	2.5%
Less than that	7.9%	5.3%	1.7%	9.1%
Don’t know	0.9%	0.9%	0.9%	2.3%

Q4: Where do you often use that portable games machine? (Sample size=2,782, multiple answer)

Home	94.2%
Bus, train, etc	15.0%
Station, bus stop	6.6%
Car	4.2%
Work or school	3.5%
Friend’s house	3.3%
Other place outside	2.8%
Restaurant, etc	2.6%
Other	1.3%
Don’t know	0.5%

Here is a slightly more detailed look at two of the answers which presumably were the two that displayed the most interesting trends.

Q4A: Where do you often use that portable games machine? (Sample size=2,782, multiple answer)

	DS N=975	DS Lite N=946	PSP N=373
Home	69.9%	95.3%	89.5%
Bus, train, etc	10.7%	16.9%	24.4%
Station, bus stop	3.4%	8.1%	11.8%

Q5: How many titles do you own for that games machine? (Sample size=2,782)

One or two	37.9%
Three to five	37.1%
Six to ten	15.6%
Eleven to twenty	5.1%
Twenty-one or more	2.4%
Don’t know	1.9%

Q6: What genres of titles do you often play on that games machine? (Sample size=2,782, multiple answer)

Brain training	54.6%
Role playing game	37.3%
Puzzle or quiz	25.1%
Adventure game	17.9%
Action	17.3%
Simulation	16.9%
Dictionary, recipe, other learning-related	13.0%
Race	6.8%
Sports	6.0%
Shooting	3.6%
Fighting game	3.4%
Movies, music	2.3%
Other	2.0%
Don’t know	1.7%

Looking in detail by age at the playing of brain training games, we see the same trend as previously reported regarding brain-boosting gaming grannies.

Q6A: Do you often play brain training games on that games machine? (Sample size=2,782, multiple answer)

Male, 19 and under	30.8%
Male 20 to 29	42.9%
Male 30 to 39	51.8%
Male 40 to 49	53.8%
Male 50 to 59	51.3%
Male 60 and older	57.1%
Female, 19 and under	38.5%
Female 20 to 29	55.3%
Female 30 to 39	55.9%
Female 40 to 49	58.1%
Female 50 to 59	68.8%
Female 60 and older	71.4%

[part 1] [part 2]