Report: Multimedia Future of Next-Gen Game Consoles Uncertain

Though 80 percent of game console households own a console capable of some form of DVD playback or online download, only 13 percent have used their console for movie viewing (some eight million U.S. households), according to new research from The Diffusion Group, MarketingCharts reports.

Among that 13 percent, the vast majority (74 percent) use only DVD for movie viewing, and approximately one-fourth have also gone online to purchase or rent a digital movie download.

“Today’s next-generation games consoles such as the Xbox 360 or Sony PS3 are true digital multimedia powerhouses,” said Dale Gilliam III, director of primary research and author of the report. “Yet very few of these devices are connected to the internet and, even though these same platforms may feature a high-definition DVD playback system, very few consumers are using them for non-gaming media applications.”

Other key findings of TDG’s new report:

• Approximately half of U.S. broadband households have at least one game console (GC) in the home; 15 percent have two or more game consoles.
• Among broadband households that own a game console, 52 percent have a console in their family or living room, 24 percent have a GC in the second bedroom, and 21 percent have a GC in the den or gameroom.
• Though the majority (80 percent) own a console capable of playing DVDs, only 30 percent said they own a console that it actually enabled DVD playback - demonstrating that many consumers poorly understand the capabilities of today’s game consoles.
• Among those that own a game console connected to the internet, 42 percent have used the GC to watch an internet-based movie on their TV.