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PS2 was most-played console of 2008

So much for the whole next-gen thing.

US gamers spent more time playing PS2 last year than any other home console, according to research firm Nielsen.

As reported by Gamasutra, the firm monitors a selection of households, then does some extrapamolation tricks to work out stats for the whole country.

Apparently PS2 users accounted for 31.7 per cent of time spent playing games. Xbox 360 was up next with 17.2 per cent, followed by the Wii at 13.4 per cent.

So where does the PS3 come in? Well, Nielsen reckons more people spent time with the original Xbox (9.7 per cent) than with Sony's latest machine (7.3 per cent). At least it beat the GameCube though (4.6 per cent). The research didn't take account of time spent with the DS or PSP.

Nielsen also studied the most-played PC games in the US. World of Warcraft tops the list, with an average playtime of more than 11 hours per week. Call of Duty 4 followed with over six-and-a-half hours, while Halo: Combat Evolved was in third place (nearly five hours per week).

The full report is available via Nielsen's website, if you're that bothered.