Current gen console ownership - a poll by a nerd for nerds

[Qazimod]

Voted. The only current-gen console I own is the Vita, and the only one I'm tempted by in the next twelve months is the PS4, but I don't know how much of my desire is because of the games or because of the "ooh shiny new toy" syndrome.

I also voted for owning a 3DS "at some point" - I have no interest in the handheld now, but I always end up buying Nintendo handhelds eventually. (Also, Persona Q may tip me over the edge, even if I still have no idea what an Etrian Odyssey is.)

[Graham S]

The only one I don't have is an XBone. I voted I won't ever get one, hoping this will remain true, but I can't be certain. A generation is a long time.

[DoctorEggo]

Voted. I have a PS3, Wii U, and both handhelds. My wife bought me a Wii U, and I'm keen to pick up a PS4 at some point, but...

Key factors for me:

• Price of console (I just cannot justify ~£400 on a toy)
• Appeal of exclusives
• Gadget lust
• Size of my "last-gen" pile of shame

[stefcha]

I've still got so much stuff to play and so little interest in anything on the PS4/One (that I couldn't get on PC if I really wanted) that there's no point in thinking about getting either. I plugged in the PS3 last night for the first time since moving house at Christmas and downloaded all the various PS+ stuff and other games I've been buying in sales to find I've got 38 games to play on that alone. 38 ffs! So I just started playing Jak & Daxter HD and actually found myself really enjoying it, despite the relative simplicity and occasional jankiness. Given that one's 14 years old I've got a fair amount of catching up to do.

[Comrade]

I don't understand people (on here) who say they're never going to buy one of the next-gen consoles. You know that eventually, they're all going to be under £99 and have a raft of great exclusive games right? I mean, look how few people never bought a last-gen console in the poll.

[Wiper]

Because that's not the question: the question is do you plan to get a console or do you have no plan to get one, not will you never get a console or are you open to it.

Obviously if an exclusive comes out that wows me I may well end up getting a Bone or a Wii U, but considering that the only reason I own a Wii is because I wanted to play Gamecube games on it, and with multiplatform (and PC-supporting) games being even more the norm now than they were in the last generation, and considering there are no games on the horizon that are making me want either, I can't say I currently plan to get either.

[BossSaru]

Initial results based on the first 183 responses:

[SweatyTravolta]

Interesting to see how this lines up the forum with the general gaming community. Obviously we're way off as more people own a Vita than 3DS but in the real world it's around 44 million to no one knows for sure because Sony won't release a figure from what I can see but estimates put it just under 10 million.

[Wiper]

See also the bit where there are more than twice as many Wii U owners than Bone owners on the forum. It's safe to say we aren't particularly reflective of the man on the street.

[chris on the moon]

Important factors for me -

Backwards compatibility - I replay all games that I enjoy. When I got a 360 I was certain that its successor would play all the games I'd bought for it. I was somewhat disappointed that this was not the case, and that studios now have a good reason to rerelease these HD games in more HD versions.

Exclusivity - and they've got to be really special.

Price - all of them are too expensive and not very sensible purchases.

To be honest, I don't really see the new consoles as relevant. If there wasn't a single new game released in the next 5 years I wouldn't run out of games I'd never played before. The wii U and 3ds are the only ones that offer a significant improvement over their predecessors, but that's mostly because they were so underpowered in comparison to their rivals. I still don't have a ps3! Or a psp, for that matter, but I was looking at them on ebay last night (cheap) before I realised there's only, like, 2 games I want to play for it, and they're supposedly not great.

[Not Thread Owner]

Matter of opinion, isn't it? Everything I've seen doesn't interest me in the slightest (bar Bloodborne, but I'm not buying a console for 1 game).

Only game that peeks my interest on a console I don't already own is No Man's Sky. That might push me to get a PS4, assuming there are some other PS4 games I want by then. There aren't yet.

[Not Thread Owner]

Hmm. I think I misvoted. I chose "plan to own at some point" for consoles I already own as I don't intend getting rid of them.

[Graham S]

I don't understand people (on here) who say they're never going to buy one of the next-gen consoles. You know that eventually, they're all going to be under £99 and have a raft of great exclusive games right? I mean, look how few people never bought a last-gen console in the poll.

I think it's at least plausible I'll be able to manage without a Bone altogether. I'm getting older, exclusives are getting less common, backlogs are getting longer, I give less of a shit. Obviously once it's small and £99, it's easy to imagine weakening. 50-50 odds, I reckon.

[Danster]

I'd have quite liked a "plan to own a gaming pc" option.

I got a Wii first last gen, because it was all new, I had my Ds and played it constantly and loved my Nintendo games. Then I got a PS3 because my wife bought it for me for Christmas. That and the Wii and the Ds still, filled all my gaming time very easily.

I got a 3ds to replace the Ds, but after Animal Crossing I've not really played it. I got a Vita at the beginning of this year because of Ps+, having so many games available for it for "free", it became a no brainer.

I will be getting a WiiU, probably this year as it will be a pressie for all the family. My girls are really enjoying Mario kart at the mo, and they love their Nintendo games. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll get a PS4 because typically Sony have given me the sort of games I love and I just have no desire for an xbone. If Oculus Rift and those space games keep tempting me then I can already see myself ending up with a good gaming pc too. And I don't have the time to play the games I've already got!

To OP what's the charting software you used for those Venn diagrams?

[Danster]

Hmm. I think I misvoted. I chose "plan to own at some point" for consoles I already own as I don't intend getting rid of them.

I did this too...

[Wiper]

Yeah, I did as well, changed it a while later when I realised how it was meant to be used (i.e. noticed that, in the results posted, there were fewer current-gen consoles appearing in people's futures than presents).

Edit: and have now re-edited so that my future plans to not throw away my Vita or 3DS are shown to reflect the clarification below.

[BossSaru]

Hmm. I think I misvoted. I chose "plan to own at some point" for consoles I already own as I don't intend getting rid of them.

That was how I meant the question, but I can see that it seems ambiguous. It was meant more as a longer term view of which consoles the respondent expects to own at some point.

[SeanR]

Can I change my "Xbox one in 12mths" vote please?

[MechE]

I'm very happy with just PC at the moment but can see myself impulse buying a PS4 Slim in a few years when it's got a decent back catalogue of exclusives.

[stefcha]

I don't understand people (on here) who say they're never going to buy one of the next-gen consoles. You know that eventually, they're all going to be under £99 and have a raft of great exclusive games right? I mean, look how few people never bought a last-gen console in the poll.

You don't understand anyone because as far as I can tell nobody has said never. Mainly because your obvious points are indeed obvious, although it'll take a hell of a long time for it to happen to the price you say because even though I only got a PS3 last year (some 6 years after release) it was still more than £99 second hand. Super slim one though.

For the either of the "plan to own" options, if you already own one should it be checked again or "none of these"? I'm not buying anything but nor am I getting rid of anything.

As Sprite Machine interpreted, I have written it to highlight what you plan to have in your possession in those periods. That way we can look at how we expect the ownership of consoles to shift over time.

Hmm. I think I misvoted. I chose "plan to own at some point" for consoles I already own as I don't intend getting rid of them.

So no, you didn't.

[Ivanho]

Who's the one poor sod who voted 'Wii only' for last gen.

*waves*

Wii was perfectly fine for me, had some of the greatest games (SMG 1+2 for a start) and I could play it with my kids. Wii U is a natural progression so I don't see the point in getting a Xbone or PS4.

[jonamok]

Are 7 of the 50 current PS4 owners planning to sell their PS4 in the next 12 months, or do I not understand the poll questions? Or do they not? Or not?

[chris on the moon]

I think most people, myself included, did not understand the poll questions, and thought of it more as a "which do you intend to purchase" rather than "which consoles do you expect to be in posession of".

SO THE DATA IS WORTHLESS.

[Oh Danny Boy]

meh, all the next gen consoles don't interest me, maybe if a new Elder Scrolls appears in a few years and its amazing but otherwise its a no. If Sony and MS had any sense and designed their new consoles to be fully backwards compatable at least with their digital content then I would most likely have naturally progressed onto the next generation without even thinking about it. As it is I have lots of awesome xbla games on my 360 which I'm not willing to give up.

Plus videogames these days rarely cater for my tastes so its not worth the massive outlay on a new console.

[jonamok]

I think most people, myself included, did not understand the poll questions, and thought of it more as a "which do you intend to purchase" rather than "which consoles do you expect to be in posession of".

SO THE DATA IS WORTHLESS.

Too late, it's been turned into graphs. The damage is done. A dark day for science.

[stefcha]

I think most people, myself included, did not understand the poll questions, and thought of it more as a "which do you intend to purchase" rather than "which consoles do you expect to be in posession of".

If only that had been explained on the first page, within half an hour of the poll being put up But yeah, it's potentially confusing which is why I asked.

[fat flatulent git]

I get just about every handheld there is, and have many more handheld games than home console ones. I'm quite sad that it looks as if there will only be Nintendo handhelds in future (mobile and tablet gaming aside).

[BossSaru]

Updated the charts with the new stats, and will edit the questions which seem to be confusing people. I appreciate that this impacts the validity of the data, but if anyone cares enough to to resubmit then they can delete their vote and re-cast it. The data on current ownership iss interesting though; the 360 was the most frequently owned console last gen amongst respondents, now it is a fairly close tie between the PS4 and Wii U, with expectations that the PS4 will be the most popular in the longer term. Not much variance between the 2/3DS and the Vita in terms of ownership, which is surely out of kilter with the population as a whole.

I'd quite like to do some analysis of the breakdown of each console's owners from this data, looking at what else they own, when I get the time.

[Guest]

I have an Xbox 360 now, and I intend to get an Xbox One in the next 12 months.

I'm really annoyed at Microsoft for messing up the One build up. Their bullshit (though they corrected most of it before launch) caused a lot of people who would have stayed with Xbox to go over to the PS4.

I think Live is great. Downloads are as fast as your bandwidth can download them, it's well populated with players, and it all feels very well supported.

[angel]

Only game that peeks my interest