Connecting to the internet is a growing part of our console experience, but figures suggest that grabbing content on a 360 or PS3 is far from common.
Research conducted by the NPD group has found that only 6% of American consumers have used a console to download content. NPD believes that these figures represent an “untapped market” for digital services and connect products.
The numbers aren’t just low on consoles either. Only 15% of consumers have used their PC or Mac to download content and only 4% used a smartphone. According to NPD VP and senior entertainment analyst Russ Crupnick, the majority of people who use internet-enabled devices are still performing fairly basic tasks like internet browsing and reading email. Rather than being a worrying statistic however, Crupnick thinks it simply represents currently untapped opportunities to further extend the scope of digital media.
“The promise of the connected experience is coming,” said Crupnik. “As prospective Blu-ray owners want their players to come with connectivity, and half of game consoles are already connected. The doors are also opening wider for music, video, gaming and other forms of entertainment.”
I must admit that that 6% figure looks low, but when you consider that it’s supposed to represent all US consumers, not just those who own a console, it makes a lot more sense. If you were to take a hundred random people and ask them if they’d downloaded something on a console, six people saying yes sounds about right.
Source: Gamasutra
