More than one third of US adults, 36.5%, of adults in the US own a games console, and 15.9% own a portable game console, according to a new study from Nielsen//NetRatings.

Generation X was the first generation to grow up with video games in the late 1970s and 1980s, and now it seems that it won’t be letting go of them just because they’re getting married and having kids. According to report, the majority of console owners, 71 percent, are married, and 66 percent have at least one child in the household. In many househoulds game consoles are becoming an integral part of home entertainment systems.

“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.

“Video game technology will only benefit other media, since what makes a video game fun and exciting brings life to movies and music as well. Companies that can leverage these new technologies across a number of products will have a distinct advantage in the competitive marketplace.”

Besides playing video games, the highest indexing personal interests among console owners are attending theme parks, collecting comic books, and collecting dolls and other figurines. The highest indexing vacation activities in this group are theme parks, water sports, and major sporting events.

Unlike the Baby Boomers, who said ”hope I die before I got old”, it seems that Generation X is taking a different approach, and they’re just doing the same things they thought were fun when they were kids.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 at 11:37 am under Uncategorized.

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