14 DAY TRIAL // It might sound strange for some and natural for others, but one thing is clear: Habbo, one of the largest virtual worlds for teenagers, has conducted a survey to see how users feel about their consoles and got a huge "big up!" for Sony's entertainment system: no less than 69 percent of the respondents rated the PlayStation 3 as a "great" or "good" console, compared with 64 percent for the Wii and only 58 percent for the Xbox 360.
The 58,486 teens who took the survey were aged between 11 and 18 and came from 31 countries across the globe. Some huge numbers involved here and, as you have already seen, some extremely interesting results! But that was not everything. Even though the PlayStation 3 beats all the consoles in every age group, the 11 to 12 years old are the only ones who would rather play on the Wii.
Strangely, the Xbox 360 is the biggest loser compared to the results of the survey. It is just like nobody loves it and we can't help but wonder who's missing something here - Microsoft, who keeps releasing press statements saying that their console sells better than ever, has more games than any other, is beloved by GTA IV fans and so on or Habbo, who only has PS3 boys as users? The latter is rather hard to believe...
Anyway, back to the numbers! Even though the PS3 is generally welcome by everybody, girls up to the age of 16 prefer the Nintendo Wii (and the console is generally the favored female choice). Microsoft's console only manages to take the number 1 console ranking in two countries: Mexico and Colombia. The rest prefers the PS3.
No matter which is your console of choice, you must admit that these results are a bit strange. Especially since only 21 percent of the teens surveyed own a PS3 console, while 23 percent own an Xbox 360 and 24 percent - a Wii. Pretty evenly matched for a "clear number one" winner...
Emmi Kuusikko, Director of User and Market Insight at Sulake, concludes, "As Sony and Xbox strive to broaden their console's appeal, from hardcore to casual gamer, the results of the survey seem to indicate that gender, not previous gaming experience, determines console choice. Regardless of their level of interest towards gaming boys prefer the PS3 and girls prefer the Wii".