The article stated that the survey included people aged six to 44! Why would a six year old know or care about HD, multimedia capabilities, or backwards compatibility? This must be a typo.

people are dumb.

Obviously, when you conduct a survey like you send it out or ask a random sampling of game users for each platform. Some platforms are going to have younger users than others (Nintendo DS for example) if a 6 yo responds to the survey then that is a data point you include because to eliminate the kid would be destroying the randomness.

Now don't you wish you had paid attention in high school / college?

So true !
Q: "Now tell me, what do you think about the new HDMI port?"
A (6 yr old) : "I like Mario"

So few people actually read up on products these days. They buy them based on how the companies hype them up. I had a friend that bought an xbox360 and had no idea that you could stream audio from your PC on it. He isn't dumb or anything he just never too the time to read the manual and such. People do stuff like this all the time...

This must be not true, but obviously if you are on this site you are one of the few people in the population that know how to use most out of technology. Most people don't know that when you go to a store or order a computer most of the computers have more the 80 processes of spy ware loaded on them and are sucking up over 800 megs of ram idling.

People sure do throw their money around. To spend all that money on a Xbox360 or PS3 and not even know it can output high definition? Do people that dumb even notice the diference between a PS2 and a PS3? Maybe that's why the PS2 is still selling like crazy.

What would a six year old do with a PS3 or Xbox360 anyway? Besides try to jam a peanut butter and jelley sandwich in the disc drive...

I don't care or know about that junk either. Just give me some good games to play, save money and don't bother with anything else.

actually you'd be surprised what a 6 year old these days would be able to do with a game console. Play it well maybe not, but people do buy these things to entertain their children which makes them a valid data point in the study of users as their parents no doubt are also taken into account with age grouping.

Makes one wonder how much prices could be cut if manufacturers removed all the extra fluff gamers dont really care about...

thinking about the PB&J sandwich kinda made me chuckle... but thats just like the joke when people used to think the cdrom tray was a cup holder (it went something like that anyhow).

i guess it just goes to show, that regardless of age, people (usually) just want to enjoy the games they play regardless of the technology (a large reason for the wii's success)... because [the wii] is not technically superior at all, more inferior actually, but the way the games are interacted with is indeed fun, and just that, interactive.

I could shoot a duck down from as far as I could stretch the controller when I was five years old. I'm not sure when I started playing the NES, but it may have been as young as three. I'm not saying I was any good at that age, but I knew how to turn the system on/off and change games.

XBox 360 is the only HD capable Windows Media Center Extender currently available - it probably didn't cost very much to build it in to the console compared to the overal development costs.
I casually enjoy a couple of games like Tiger Woods and my kids play an original XBox Barbie game but I use the audio / picture / DVR features all of the time.

So, what the differences between sony PS1, PS2, and PS3 format? I have heard that ps2 or xbox 360 can also play dvd movies too, also, I have heard that they can chew up dvd disc easily. This lacks me what system to buy for real...Are PS1/PS2/PS3 BACKWARD COMPATIBLE SYSTEM format? Should i buy XBOX 360 player instead?

thank you

next gen only has 2? what about Wii? i am sure this "survey" make sense, sure when there are hardly any data facts to support, % don't mean nothing if there aren't no number provided, awww 40% of people is awake of build in blu-ray, 40% of 2 person? huh? the guy's left arm knows but his right arm and foot don't know, and his left foot miss out coz it don't play games. this article suck! please rewrite it. mark raby, i wonder which university you grad from.

I am not all surprised that Joe Average does not know about the multimedia capabilities of consoles. The crowd that frequents this site is the exception to the rule and calling the general public stupid because they do not know what a 360 or PS3 can do is just letting your own ignorance and geek shine through. Sorry the rest of the world is not as smart as you!

Fact is, Joe Average buys a console to play a games. That's what consoles are for. That's what they were back in the Atari days and that's what they are now in the 360 and PS3 days. A gaming console, no more no less.

What M$ and Sony need to do is dispose of the bells and whistles and stick to the core product by focusing in on putting out a top-of-the-line consoles with cuttign edge hardware with a crap load of games. Remember when the original Playstation was released? It hit the market with about 150 games, and all it did was play games! It was one of the best and most successful console product launches EVER!

It will take another generation or two of gamers for the multi-media capabilities and complete digital convergence for consoles as a multi-media devices to catch on with Joe Average.

I buy a console to play games that aren't ported to the PC, not to watch Blu-Ray or HD-DVD's, that's why I've got an HTPC!!!!

If I went out and purchased a game console, I wouldn't care about the extra HD features. I purchased the thing to play games and not stream media to it or watch HD DVDs. I wouldn't care about all the extra, just how well it performs when playing games but then again, I am a PC gamer that doesn't even own a TV.

PC Gamer

Are you kidding? What kind of computer store are you shopping at?? You buying a pc with a pirated OS somewhere in Asia?

To les above... Maybe if you want to dis the author for his lack of facts and rip on what college he went to you should at least type as if you passed grammer school.

I thought it was only a heater for cold winter days

last time I check that childrens toy you call a Wii was never considered a "next gen" system.

as it does NOT:
~ display graphics in HD
~ play any other form of media other then games (no HD movie playback)
~ have a hard drive,wifi or anything else that would bring it even close to the capabilities of a PS3 or X360

a gimmicky control system does not make the Wii "next gen", it is no more powerfull then the 7yo original xbox

Depends on your definition of "next gen"

Old technology does not necesserily rule out a console from "next gen" games. Hi res graphics do not define "next gen", that is merely evolution, not revolution, which Wii arguably is. The wii challenges the way we look at console gaming and breaks away from the norm.

Would the hefty sales of Wii not support the evidence that people don't care about extras that companies would have us believe we cannot do without??

The games for wii use a revolutionary control scheme, but everything else is last gen.

If you look at the insides of a Wii, you find 2 gamecubes bow-tied together, 2 last get systems dont make a next gen system.

The games won't ever fit into the definition of "next gen" that we most know. Because it's only about as powerful as an Xbox (not 360), it won't ever get advanced AI, interactive environments, wide spaces, innovative multiplayer functionality, ect...

Next gen games, like Bioshock, Rage, Oblivion (and probably its successor), Call of Duty 4, GTA 4, ect will NEVER come to Wii without MAJOR overhauls (like the craptastic wii farcry).

Wii has a revolutionary control system, but it's online features, graphics, and capability to support next gen game features are very last gen.

If you look away from games and peek at the multimedia funtionality, it falls even farther behind.

Wii == last gen.

It's pretty funny that Wii is making games for everyone, yeah. I think Nintendo conquered "next gen" better than the "real" next gen consoles did so far with the sales figures it's posted.

What world are we livin'???!!!

While there was no Wii equivalent at the time, we had a console last generation called Dreamcast. It had a FANTASTIC first couple of years. Then, in it's Second year, Playstation 2 came out and it continuted to thrive due to everyone buying PS2s for a cheap DVD Player (go do your research before saying i'm full of shit, if you say it, you are just full of shit yourself). But, they bought alot of PS2s at the time. By the end of that Second year, PS2 had some strong titles, and titles exclusive that Dreamcast wasn't getting. Sega faltered, gave away the bank on Online Freebie signups and their house of cards folded.

Now... well...
The Dreamcast is kind of abit in the Wii and the XBOX 360. And, also, in a way, the 360 is a bit PS2 as well, which is good.
The Wii, well, it's more popular to sell systems than release games for it. That's a problem. The 'novelty' of innovation will wear off if I can't Slay Dragons and Zombines and stuff in 3-10 more games, play great sports titles and see a game that really pushes the system's graphics. It's better than XBOX

One would to well not to make basic spelling mistakes when making fun of another's writing.

Seriously?? This must be a joke...they must have captured the entire audience that will be utterly confused when their analog tuners no longer function in the not too distant future...seriously these people should just spend 5 min to utilize the potential these devices have.

Some (many) people just don't take the time to learn about the products they purchase or are given. If someone doesn't know that the PS3 or 360 are HD-capable they are either a child or highly ignorant of electronics and unobservant. I young child may have no clue -- especially when you consider the possibility that the only TV they have any recollection of may be HD. A six year old may think all TV is supposed to look that way (HD).

You know that if the study had been done with people between the ages of 20-35 (an expected target age group for PS3 and XBox360) who actually owned consoles, those percentages would skyrocket. All the extra features are for the tech savey young adults who thrive on them.

bah... Multimedia Consoles are a joke. They only work for movies. Crappy overpriced systems if you ask (crappy cuz they are overpriced).

Cars change "generations" every year. Sometimes they just change a couple of things here and there and they call it "brand new".

WII is the next generation console from nintendo.
XBOX 360 is the next generation console from MS.
PS3 is the next generattion console from Sony.

PS2, XBOX and GC are last gen... not the WII.

Heck Windows Vista is next gen, even if it is crap. It is still next gen, just like sequels of games like CS and such.

It is clear that people believe that Nintendo's WII is a better value than PS3 and XBOX and that's why it is owning the market. And tat's why it is owning this generation of consoles.

Heck people sometimes say "i have a WII and a PS3/XBOX 360". This means high tech people also considers it a gaming console for this generation and don't want to miss its features. While the PS3/xbox focus on multimedia, the Wii focuses on interface

People like Campbell is just silly because they can't think outside of the box.

the problem with the dreamcast was NEVER the system... the problem was SEGA and its marketting department (or maybe its management, still it was SEGA, it wasn't the console itself).

'One would to well not to make basic spelling mistakes when making fun of another's writing.'
Don't you mean too well? ;)

And, for a survey of only 6,600 people, I think that's a pretty low number to speak for the majority of us gamers, no?

This is kinda like asking idiots on the street to name the Governor of their respective state. The masses are generally stupid about most everything in their life.

The people that frequent this site and sites like it will naturally be more aware of electronics than the majority of the population. If the study were "Tom's Hardware fans don't care about additional game console features" then I could understand the reaction I'm seeing from most of you.

Also, who the hell gets so worked up over stupid crap like this anyway?

No, he means "do well"