Roy Morgan Research
July 13, 2018

2.9 million Australians have a PlayStation 4 at home – and half of them use SVOD

Topic: Press Release
Finding No: 7658
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Nearly eight million Australians aged 14+ own a video game console in the household, almost two-fifths of the population (39.4%). In this eighth generation of video game consoles, Sony’s PlayStation 4 has the highest number of consoles in Australian households, Roy Morgan reveals. This is significantly larger than Microsoft’s Xbox One (1.88 million) and Nintendo’s Wii U (637,000).

These are the latest figures from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own home.

While Roy Morgan extensively measures video game ownership (including the ever popular Nintendo Wii from the seventh generation, the video game console owned by nearly 3.5 million Australians), the Single Source Survey also measures Australians geo-demographics, including age, sex, education, work and income, religion and voting, as well as psychographics, including, attitudes, lifestyle, and purchase decision making and intention. When Australians are asked “Which of the following items does your household own?” Roy Morgan can analyse the results across each of these variables. 

PlayStation 4 owners lead for SVOD streaming numbers

Long gone are the days when video game consoles were used only for games. Video game consoles are a media hub, Blu-ray player, music and movie streamer, and online store. They can be used to stream Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

6.46 million Australians aged 14+ say they watch SVOD (subscription video on demand) in an average 7 days (32%). Yet those who own either an Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or Wii U are more than 50% more likely to watch SVOD in an average 7 days than the average Australian. 

SVOD watchers by Total Population and Console Owners

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), April 2017 – March 2018, n = 50,014.
Base: Australians aged 14+.

1.45 million PlayStation 4 owners watch SVOD in an average 7 days, or 50.1% of all PlayStation 4 owners. 1.09 million Xbox One owners (58.1%) and 320,000 Wii U owners (50.2%) watch SVOD. While a larger percentage of Xbox One and Wii U owners also watch SVOD in an average 7 days, more Australians own a PlayStation 4 and also watch SVOD.

Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says:

Block Quote

“Sony PlayStation 4 is clearly the preferred video game console of this current generation, with 2.9 million consoles in Australian households.

“Part of the appeal of these video game consoles is they aren’t strictly used for video games – they also make excellent media hubs for streaming giants like Netflix, Stan, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Foxtel, and more. 32% of Australians watch SVOD (subscription video on demand) in an average 7 days.
 
“Yet half of Australians (50.1%) who own a Sony PlayStation 4 watch SVOD in an average 7 days. We can see the association between video game console ownership and using streaming services like SVOD and the impact that has on both console makers, and content providers.

“Roy Morgan has the power to look at video game console and handheld owners, purchasers, and intenders of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo products, and their geo-demographics and psychographics.
 
“The data used here is only a small part of what Roy Morgan has been collecting for many years on a wide range of areas relating to video game console ownerspurchasers, and intenders. As a result, we have a unique database that enables an in-depth understanding of this important market in this time of growing change. To understand more about video game console owners and the market at large, ask Roy Morgan.”

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Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate
40% – 60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95%
1,000 ±3.0 ±2.7 ±1.9 ±1.3
5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6
7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5
10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4
20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3
50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

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