Gaming map reveals UK's gaming habits
Thursday, May 10, 2012 12:44 PM
A new gaming map has given a fascinating insight into the gaming habits of the UK's population.
Compiled by the online retailer Playr2.com from a survey of nearly 2,000 gamers,
the research reveals that the north-south divide apparently doesn’t just apply to toughness (I'm a southern "softy" by the way) and house prices.
While the majority of Xbox gamers live north of Birmingham, over half of PS3 gamers live south of the Midlands.
Bristolians on the other hand seem to have a collective affinity with the Nintendo Wii, as the city has been named the UK's "Wii Capital" (so to speak), with 15 per cent of nunchuck-wielding Brits living there.
As well as being the residence of the crown jewels, London is also home to the UK's most valuable gaming collections.
The average London gamer has £517 worth of consoles and games stashed at home, closely followed by Liverpool on £502 and Manchester (£496).
First person shooters are not only the most popular UK-wide, but they dominate the lives of gamers in London, the Midlands and the north-west, while those in Wales and the south-west prefer adventure titles.
Down in the south-east they like things sporty, but in Scotland and the north-east it is RPGs that get gamers' juices flowing.
Scots also clock the most gaming time (11.1 hours per week), while those in the south-west register just 5.8 hours per week.
Overall, the good old desktop is still the most popular gaming platform, ahead of new pretenders the PS3 and the Xbox 360.
Some 55 per cent of those surveyed said they play games on Mac and Windows, compared with 52 per cent who have a PS3 and 48 per cent who enjoy a bit of Xbox action. Just eight per cent play a PS Vita, compared to 21 per cent who have a DS.