Sony talks online gaming's impact on TV @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on March 06, 2004

News: Sony reveals that most gamers are playing online instead of watching television and releases some new sales figures for the network adapter.

Sony recently announced the latest sales figures for the PS2 Network Adapter and it looks like console online gaming is in no danger of slowing down. 2.6 million Network Adapters are out in the world right now, an increase of 239 percent from last February. Sony also said that their release schedule for 2004 should double the number of online enabled titles for the PlayStation 2.

Theyаhave also revealed a few numbers onаtheir most popular online game, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy Seals. Nearly 500,000 players have registered to take the game online and the average player putsа4 hours and twelve minutes into the game a day.

"SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs is the most popular online console game, allowing consumers to interact with a huge community of players. It is setting the bar for online entertainment" said Andrew House, the executive vice president ofаSony Computer Entertainment America.

Sony also made the rather dubious claim that online gaming on the PS2 is dragging the coveted 18-34 demographic away from television because the most popular time for the PS2 online networkаwasаbetween 5 and 11 PM ("primetime TV"аis considered between 7 and 11 PM).

"We believe the compelling content we offer online gamers will continue to drive the growth of our online platform, far outpacing other online gaming destinations and potentially rivaling the popularity of more traditional entertainment mediums like television," House also said.

While the sales numbers are impressive, and they prove that online gaming is becoming a viable and profitable option for console games, it doesn't prove that anybody is moving away from television to play more games.

In today's living room,аmultiple VCRs and TiVo's growing popularity mean you can watch what you want when you want. Television watching is no longer locked in to "primetime" viewing hours. There's also the fact that most 18-34 year olds have work or school preventing them from playing at other times, so 5 to 11 PM is the only time they can play.

But the online adapter numbers are what's important. That andаthe PS2's growing catalog ofаonline releases that we at Gaming Targetаpledge toаcover from announcement to release.