Wii clinches bronze in console usage stakes

The white coats at Nielsen have been at it again, analysing our gaming lives and charting the consoles we use most. Unlike the Nielsen study we posted about previously, this one takes into account pre-Wii/PS3/Xbox 360 platforms. This means that the PS2 stormed to a predictable, convincing victory: 30.2% of "all measured console minutes" were dedicated to Sony's nine-year-old machine.

Despite its smaller user base, the Xbox 360 was second with 18.3%, while the Wii came third with 13.5% -- high enough, we feel, to put any no-doubt-hilarious Wii/dust jokes to rest. Excellently, the GameCube is following the PS3 more closely than you'd think.

A quick disclaimer before you scuttle past the break to see the data in full: these numbers cover January to October 2008, there's no word on whether non-U.S. gamers were surveyed, and handhelds aren't mentioned, though are presumably bracketed in the "Others" category. Multiple console owners who are richer than us: how closely do your own habits follow this pattern?

• PlayStation 2 (30.2%)

• Xbox 360 (18.3%)

• Wii (13.5%)

• Xbox (9.1%)

• PlayStation 3 (7.7%)

• GameCube (4.4%)

• Other (16.9%)

[Via Edge Online]