PlayStation 3 Gamers More Interested in Movie Tie Ins

One of the biggest trends of the gaming industry at the moment is the release of videogame companions for the most popular movie franchises, offering a different take on the events depicted or a piece of backstory, which movie goers would not be able to get otherwise.

Nielsen, the firm that tracks consumer patterns in various industries, is saying that those players who spend most of their play time on the Sony made PlayStation 3 are the ones who are most interested in movie tie ins.

The PS3 playing group has spent on average 17% more time than those playing on the Xbox 360, while those who own a Nintendo Wii spend 6% less than the median in the study. Interestingly, those who are interested in how movies like Transformers or Avatar translate into a videogaming experience are also more willing to pick up DVD versions of the movies, as well as seeing them in theaters, which must be good news for the movie industry and will probably lead to the announcement and the release of more tie ins.

Those households that actually buy videogames related to movies are also willing to spend more, by about 95%, on DVD releases, indicating that they might be those who are interested in all the products of the entertainment industry, from different versions of the same movies to the merchandise based on various franchises.

The PlayStation 3 connection can probably be explained by the fact that Sony’s console features a Blu-ray drive. Those who pick up the device see it not only as a platform for playing exclusive titles, like Uncharted 2 or Gran Turismo 5, but also as a way to watch the movies they like without actually going to the cinema. The problem with movie videogame tie ins is that the quality players expect is just not there most of the time, as shown by the recent Avatar game.