Habbo market research

London, UK, 16th May 2008. The second Global Youth Survey conducted by Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teenagers, reveals that the PlayStation 3 is the console of choice for teens today. 58,486 teens between the ages of 11 and 18 took part in the global survey across 31 markets. From the respondents, 69 percent refer to the PS3 console as “great” or “good”. This was followed closely by the Nintendo Wii at 64 percent and Xbox 360 with 58 percent.

The PS3 beats Wii in every age group except the 11 to 12 year olds. However, the Wii is more popular amongst girls up to 16 year olds, and is the favoured female choice overall. The results also show that whilst the Xbox 360 is less popular in Europe and Asia, its popularity in the Americas fares much better: it is the most popular console in Mexico and Colombia and takes second place in the US, Canada, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

“The results of this survey are interesting as it gives us an insight into which brands these teens aspire to as the level of ownership does not correspond to the consoles’ popularity,” explains Emmi Kuusikko, Director of User and Market Insight at Sulake. “By order of ownership, the Wii leads, followed by the Xbox 360 and PS3.”

Of the teens surveyed, 24 percent own a Wii, with 21 percent and 23 percent owning a PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively. The results do suggest significant growth potential, with each of these consoles there is another 20% planning on buying one of these consoles in the next 12 months. The Wii and PS3 have the most sales potential: the amount of respondents that are interested in buying them is 4 to 5 percentage points higher than for the Xbox 360.

Emmi Kuusikko concludes: “As Sony and Xbox strive to broaden their console’s appeal, from hardcore to casual gamer, the results of the survey seem to indicate that gender, not previous gaming experience, determines console choice. Regardless of their level of interest towards gaming boys prefer the PS3 and girls prefer the Wii.”

A report of the Global Habbo Youth Survey 2008 is available to buy as a hard copy book of 250 pages. For inquiries and orders, please contact: marketinsight@sulake.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information, or to request an interview please contact:

Roy Foster

Edelman

020 7344 1545

roy.foster@edelman.com

Accompanying graphs from the research are available on request. General Sulake and Habbo press images can be downloaded from: www.sulake.com/press/image_bank.

About the research

The research was conducted within the virtual world, Habbo, and the total amount of respondents (after data cleaning) was 58,486. The research was conducted between October and November 2007. 31 countries were surveyed and statistical weighting was employed to give all participating countries an equal weight in the global results. Research is available on request.

About Habbo:

Habbo is a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual community and game environment for teens. Users join by creating a fully customized online character called a Habbo. From there, they can explore many public hang-outs, play a variety of games, connect with friends, decorate their own rooms, and have fun through creativity and self expression. Currently there are Habbo communities in 32 countries on six continents. To date, over 94 million Habbo characters have been created and 9.5 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics).

www.habbo.co.uk

About Sulake

Sulake is an online entertainment company focused on virtual worlds and social networking. Sulake’s main product is Habbo, one of the world’s fastest growing virtual worlds and online communities for teenagers. There are localized Habbo communities in 32 countries on six continents. To date over 94 million Habbo characters have been created and 9.5 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics). Habbo brand is being extended to include mobile games and content as well as real-life products. Sulake was established in 2000 and it has almost doubled its annual revenues each year. The main shareholders in Sulake include Taivas Group, Elisa Group, 3i Group plc, and Balderton Capital followed by Movida Group (in Japan), the company’s founders Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrölä, Sulake’s CEO Timo Soininen and other personnel. Sulake has offices in 15 countries. Headquarters is situated in Helsinki, Finland. Currently the company has 300 employees worldwide.

www.sulake.com

www.habbo.co.uk