A recent market research report by the NPD Group found that video game consoles are, and will remain, the most popular method by which consumers connect their televisions to the Internet. The report also noted that by 2015, nearly 120 million Americans will have a broadband Internet connection to their television sets.
The report found that while other devices (Roku, Apple TV, etc.) are experiencing more rapid growth in the Internet-to-TV market, video game consoles are expected to remain the leader in the market. The report found that the number of these Internet-enabled video game consoles is expected to grow by 22% over the next two years.
This is good news for Microsoft, which recently announced the upcoming release of Xbox One, its first new game console in eight years. Microsoft envisions Xbox One as much more than a game system: it’s being promoted as a not just a console but a media entertainment system. Microsoft sees it as more of a user’s window for media and entertainment.
Interestingly, the NPD Group study found that nearly a quarter of current Xbox owners use their console for either watching YouTube videos or DVDs. Overall, a large percentage of users of other game systems (Wii, PlayStation) report that their favorite use of their game systems is for non-gaming activity.
John Buffone, the director of device research for Connected Intelligence (part of the NDP Group) was quoted in a press release stating that, “[t]he battle in living rooms across the U.S. isn’t only between people deciding what to watch, it’s between the devices vying to get content onto the screen. Consumers have a lot of hardware options, on average 1.5 Internet devices per connected TV. When it comes to watching streamed content, TV viewers have to choose between the unique set of applications, user interface, and other characteristics offered by each device.”
