New York - The number of video game consoles in U.S. television households has expanded by 18.5% since the fourth quarter of 2004, according to a report from Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services.

In the fourth quarter of 2006 there were 45.7 million homes with game consoles, representing 41.1% of all U.S. TV households, compared with 38.6 million (35.2%) at the end of 2004.

The report also found that more than two-thirds of all men 18-34 had access to a console in their homes, which increased to 80% for 12-17 year-old males.

"In households across the country, consoles are successfully competing for consumers' time and attention; not simply as gaming platforms, but as multimedia hubs that also can deliver high quality digital movies and IPTV," said Jeff Herrmann, vice president of Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services.

Nielsen also found that the number of U.S. TV households with consoles connected to an online service had grown to more than 4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, not counting connected PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles.

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http://tinyurl.com/2wtlwk (Nielsen report PDF)