This article makes sense. I remember a few years back when they were writing all the articles about how Hollywood was finally realizing the fact that THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY had quietly surpassed the movie industry in terms of making money.

Anyway, I only watch TV at work and I've got no TV reception in my house because I don't want to spend money on cable. So either the TV is...OFF, being used to play games Online and off, or looking at DVD's.

Thank you.

Seriously, it's true. Prime time TV is such brainless crap, no wonder people who are looking for something more stimulating turn to games. Especially when playing online versus other humans offers an endless variety of entertainment.

LOL. This article is BRILLIANT. Is it a reprint of a Sony press release? If not, Sony should hire this guy. Basically, he's said nothing and pointed to no hard evidence for this claim, but the way he has juxtaposed certain facts makes you really think it must be the awesome power of a single online game that's driven down male viewership. I like how he refers to TV industry analysts speculating that it's due to gaming and then eschews any quotes from said analysts, but instead goes for one from a Sony vp! Or how "online gaming" must equate, of course, to SOCOM II.

I would not be surprised if gaming in general has drawn away male viewers, especially since console games these days play like PC games (ie, skewing to older audiences), but JUST online gaming? And just one game at that? Give me a break.

Actually, there are online multiplayer versions of both solitaire and minesweeper, although in somewhat modified form. They're available in the newest version of MSN messenger. The minesweeper is decent, but kind of slow paced. The solitaire version is pretty awsome though. For all practical purposes it's just a two player version of dutch blitz, if anyone is familiar with the game. There was a period about six months ago where I'd stay up for hours playing "just one more game" of the solitaire.

Granted this isn't a scientific study with a control group and placebos and all that, but their numbers are based on their real network usage. I mean you can't argue that the guys playing during that time weren't playing. You could argue that if they weren't playing online they might not have been watching TV either, but their numbers are valid.

I would also in general that I play games (online and offline) almost as much as I watch TV. Offline gaming they can't even track so I'm sure the numbers are much worse than they've listed in fact.

I agree but there are only so many hours in a week and there are outliers on both ends (those who hop on, only to get a phonecall or a nagging spouse causing them to play only five minutes). I would like to see the full statistics on this though, because average says a lot but it also creates more questions.


In response to the mention of online console gaming while shrugging off PC gaming: I think it's because these are people sitting in front of their TVs during Primetime tv and not watching a single ad (how long will that last though?). It's an impressive number, especially if you consider how many people are playing games that aren't online....

I'm glad something has pulled people away from watching crap TV and thank God it wasn't going outside or spending time with their families.

The title of this thread should include the words "compels you."

- David Stein

Their numbers are probably "real", but pay attention to what they actually show. They say there are 2.6 million in the community, not that all of them are active, let alone playing SOCOM2. And who knows how they count people who've only played a little bit? No one is ensuring that the stats are being tabulated properly. Or popular hours are 5-11 pm. When? What if they play 1 hour on weekdays at that time and 6 hours on weekends? That "5-11pm is most popular" stat still holds but the implication becomes different.

But most importantly, if they actually wanted to make a strong case, they could very simply have said "these are the average number of users online each night Monday to Friday, 5-10pm, and this how long they play for on those nights and this is what they were usually playing".

So I got a new pc game this week called Everquest, I heard its been out of PS2 for a while now but its brand new on pc. It's huge, there are already 7 expansions out while the ps2 version only has 1, very odd considering it's been around for so long compared to the pc version

Incidently, what is ironic is while the ps2 was brand spanking new in 99 and the biggest game was Grand Turismo 3, people were already getting divorced and impotent playing games like Everquest and Ultima Online, it always amazes me how the media is so far behind the times and think that this is a new phenomena.

Again, I think the surprise is in how many people are sitting in front of their TVs but not watching primetime television (and, more importantly, advertisements).

thanks to TIVO i can watch prime time TV during the non prime time hours, on my schedule. perfect for Saturday morning or sundays where there's usually nothing to watch. besides the number of good shows have died down, nowadays its just reality shows..after Friends, all i have are..Simpsons....and yeah thats about it..i watch QUeer Eye & THe Apprentice, as well Sportscenter and I record music videos. besides with DVDs and video games, and TV, work, social events...there's just not enough time in the world!! i'm usually watching TV while eating or chatting online anyways.

I used to spend soooo many hours during my college days..Starcraft..Counterstrike..RTCW..