According to the company's research, undertaken in Q3 2009, 54% of American households own some kind of video game system, whether it be a console or handheld device. Surprisingly, the bulk of that number are up to date, with 41% of Americans owning either a PS3, 360 or Wii (or combo of the three).

Actually, that's not surprising. This is surprising: did you know that 52% of PSP owners are female? Sounds crazy to me, but hey, Nielsen do market research better than I do. Other gender-related figures reveal 45% of "active" gamers are female, who also account for 49% of Wii owners.

When it comes to time spent playing, the average US household now play for 3.36 hours a week on a console.

Finally, in terms of spending, one interesting stat is that 61% of gamers who enjoy a game they rent go on to buy the thing.

Sooprise, sooprise, "households with kids ages 6-12 represent the 'sweet spot' for these products," writes Nielsen on its blog. Also, these households tend to be wealthier, with incomes above $70,000. But lest you think this is strictly a suburban whitebread consumer template, Hispanics and Asians were most likely, among ethnicities, to pick up this type of game, too.

What is interesting to me is the console breakdown of video game movie buyers. The PlayStation 3 is the clear leader, followed by the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. The Wii? A distant fourth.

This is probably attributable to the first three consoles outnumbering the Wii for development of video game adaptations. But as Nielsen started this by painting the picture of a comfortable, dual-income family with kids younger than 12 in the house, and with most major film adaptations going to all consoles, the Wii turning up so low is kind of a surprise.

Movie-based Video Games and the Households that Buy Them [Nielsen Blog]

Fast Company reports that they've been told that the graph was mislabeled. The real graph, which now appears in the official report and in the image above, shows that the Wii is in second place, after the PS2, for console usage and the PS3 is in fifth place, beating out the GameCube and original Xbox.

Whoops. I hope there aren't any other mistakes in the oft-cited, typically trusted data. Reached for comment this morning, a Nielsen representative said the report does not contain any other errors.

Who Really Gets the Most Play? Nielsen's Revised Chart Upends the Video Game Market

There are all kinds of charts and colourful graphs contained within the report, but the key findings were:

- That the PS2 is still the most-played machine out there (though this is of course steeply declining)
- "Active Users" who own an Xbox 360 or PS3 play them a lot more (nearly 2x as much) than people who own a Wii play on one.
- Of six consoles listed (PS2, PS3, 360, Xbox, Wii & GameCube), the Wii has the lowest percentage of active users, the shortest average playtime session, the lowest number of average daily play sessions and the second-lowest number of average days used per month (only the GameCube trails).

Make of those findings what you will. Though it should be noted, those "usage" stats include time spent using the 360 and PS3 for other things, like as DVD players. That won't account for the gulf between usage, but it will have contributed. Maybe Nintendo can make some ground up on that front later in the year!

Also released at the end of the study was a list showing the ten most-played PC games amongst Nielsen's study group. If you think the chart will be topped by Dawn of War II, Left 4 Dead or even World of Warcraft, well, you're wrong.

Broken into two charts - one for men, and one for the ladies - Solitaire tops both charts, while World of Warcraft comes in at #7 on both. The only other "proper" game on the list was Half-Life 2 on the male charts, presumably for all the Counter-Strike players out there.

You can check out the full report, including all those pretty graphs, below.

[Nielsen]

So it's not just the 18-35 year-old male that's been surveyed. We're talking kids, adults, the elderly, and across both genders to boot. So, yeah, everybody.

Their findings? Let's find out.

Basically, as you can see from the "Avg Usage Days", men use the 360 most (and by "most", the survey means "most days spent playing it"). And women? They use the 360 most as well. At least, those amongst the surveyed group do.

*Note - the chart below shows only October. If you hit the link below, you'll see many of the more hotly-contested categories switch places in November and/or December

Of course, there are exceptions to that rule. Women over 55 spent more time playing the Wii than the others, while 18-24 year-old men spent most time on the PS3.

UPDATE - Reader Travis, a statistician of all things, let us know that some of the original conclusions drawn from these statistics were incorrect. They've since been updated.

Nielsen Study [Nielsen, via GameDaily] [Image]

According to researchers at the Nielsen Company and its Monitor-Plus advertising monitoring service, the industry spent an astounding $823 million promoting its video game wares to consumers. Hey, you gotta spend money to make money, right? Surely we wouldn't complain.

Nielsen and business intelligence and research firm EEDAR announced alongside their findings their intentions to "provide detailed analysis of historical marketing campaigns in the video game industry" as part of a long term agreement.

That means we'll probably have solid data on whether the industry will spend the better part of a billion dollars on marketing and promotion this year, something we'd be surprised to see in the lagging economy.

That $823 million may seem like a lot, but it's less than 4% of the industry's total revenue for 2008. And considering how much Rockstar Games and Valve spent last year promoting Grand Theft Auto IV and Left 4 Dead, we're wondering how the rest managed to get by.

According to their "best of 2008" lists - which record stuff like the ten highest-grossing movies, biggest-selling albums, etc - America's PC gamers spent more time playing World of Warcraft than any other game. Indeed, you spent more time playing World of Warcraft than the other nine games in the top ten combined.

Nielsen also recorded - again, on the basis of most time spent playing rather than highest-selling - what America's most popular console was. And surprise, it wasn't the Wii. While Nintendo's console was obviously the top seller for 2008, it's still got a ways to go to catch up the install base of the PS2, which racked up nearly 3x as many playing hours as Nintendo's machine could manage.

Oh, and yes. That is the original Xbox getting more use than the PS3 (with the GameCube not that far behind, either). Ouch.

“The growth of in-game advertising, both current and projected, makes it an attractive medium for brands looking to reach hard-to-reach consumers,” said Elizabeth Harz, EA’s Senior Vice President of Global Media Sales. “This study solidifies what many in the industry have known for a long time: in-game ads are effective and well-received by the gaming community.”

Hooray! We're only alienating 18% of the gaming public! Hit the jump for the rest of the numbers, most of which seem to be aimed more at attracting advertisers rather than assuaging consumer concerns.

Landmark IGA-Nielsen Study: 82% of Consumers React Positively to Receiving Contextual In-Game Ads During Game Play

New research data from 1,300+ consumers indicates brands receive measurable lift in perception, awareness when advertised in-game

Tuesday 17th June/...Integrating dynamic advertisements into videogame environments provides brands a measured lift in overall consumer awareness and opinion of the products they are exposed to during game play according to the Consumers’ Experience with In-Game Content & Brand Impact of In-Game Advertising Study, a landmark research study conducted by Nielsen BASES and Nielsen Games on behalf of IGA Worldwide, the leading in-game advertising network.

“With young adults now spending on average 6 hours a week gaming, advertisers should be excited at how well their messages were embraced and the brands positively perceived,” said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide. “The consumer insights we’ve gleaned from this data will help drive the industry’s first research-based in-game advertising measurement standards as well as strengthen IGA’s position as an effective in-game ad network brands can trust to efficiently deliver their message to target audiences.”

One of the most important factors confirmed by the Study is that most consumers reacted positively to in-game ads: 82 percent felt games were just as enjoyable with ads as without. In addition, there was an average 61 percent increase in consumers’ favorable opinions of products advertised in-game post-play.

“The growth of in-game advertising, both current and projected, makes it an attractive medium for brands looking to reach hard-to-reach consumers,” said Elizabeth Harz, EA’s Senior Vice President of Global Media Sales. “This study solidifies what many in the industry have known for a long time: in-game ads are effective and well-received by the gaming community.”

One of the most comprehensive in-game advertising effectiveness research studies completed to-date, Nielsen tested multiple variables with multiple brands across multiple games, as opposed to just a single brand in a single game. The research also showed how IGA’s in-game unique advertising opportunities generate significant advertising value across key ad metrics.

"In-game advertising is an opportunity to present targeted brand messaging to a highly desirable demographic. This new data shows how important it is how the targeted and contextual ads are displayed in videogames. Participating in this study with IGA Worldwide has provided valuable new insights into effectively using the medium." said Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emerging Platforms Organic, Inc.

Nielsen surveyed over 1,300 PC gaming participants in their homes by linking IGA’s proprietary measurement software with research trackers embedded within sample game disc. This unique methodology allowed for unprecedented in-depth analysis of consumer receptivity to in-game ads. The participating brand advertisers included Taco Bell, Jeep and Wrigley and game titles were provided by Electronic Arts and Activision.

Select Findings from the Study:

• There is an average 44 percent increase in post-game aided recall from pre-awareness;

• Positive brand attribute association increased 33 percent across all brands;

• Over 70 percent of consumers who were most opinionated about in-game ads, felt the ads made them feel better about the brand, feel more favorable toward the brand, make them more interested in the brand, and believe the ads are for innovative/cutting edge brands;

• Over 60 percent of the most opinionated consumers feel the ads catch their attention, make games more realistic, do not interrupt the game experience, and are promoting relevant products;

• In-game ad exposures with a duration over 2 seconds, as they are measured in IGA’s in-game ad methodology, generates on average an almost 30% increase in key ad metrics, including ad noticeability +100%, recall +42%, and fit +27%, vs. ad exposures with a duration of less than 1 second

“This study offers proof that dynamic in-game advertising is an influential digital ad medium,” said Dave Anderson, Senior Director Business Development, Activision. “Just as important to us is how users react to the ads. From the research it is clear that the overwhelming majority of consumers enjoyed the gaming experience just as much, if not more, with dynamic ads present. As game publishers, it is reassuring to know advertisers and consumers both stand to benefit from dynamic ads.”

IGA’s network offers dozens of games across multiple genres and platforms, as well as a range of standardized awareness advertising formats with digital measurability. The Company’s advertising products and metrics are in-line with the ad industry and measure ad exposure during game play, including key metrics like minimum time viewed, size and angle thresholds.

Videogame advertising is poised to grow to a $2B global industry by 2012 according to eMarketer, making games the fastest-growing major advertising medium. As a result, advertisers are making significant investments in the in-game environment as an effective strategy to reach target audiences.

The rest of the PC gaming genre's top performers are below, with video game console usage stats after the jump.

Top 10 PC Game Titles in the U.S.
Apr-Nov 2007

1. World of Warcraft
2. The Sims
3. RuneScape
4. Halo: Combat Evolved
4. Halo 2
6. Counter-Strike
7. The Sims 2
8. Madden NFL 07
9. Grand Theft Auto
10. Counter-Strike: Source

It's somewhat surprising to see both the original Xbox and GameCube still outperforming their successors, but I suspect those two older consoles won't hold their spots next year. A bit less surprising, however, to see the gap between those still using their PlayStation 2s versus those playing on a PlayStation 3.

Video Game Console Usage
Apr-Nov 2007

1. PlayStation 2 - 42.2 %
2. Xbox - 13.9 %
3. Xbox 360 - 11.8 %
4. GameCube - 7.1 %
5. Wii - 5.5 %
6. PlayStation 3 - 2.5 %
7. Other - 17.1 %

Oh great. I suppose we're in for a flood of comments from the Other fanboys now. They're the worst.

The Nielsen Company Issues Top Ten U.S. Lists for 2007 (PDF) [Nielsen]

Ten things I learned at the presentation by Nielsen Vice President Jeff L. Herrmann about their new measuring system for game play.

1. Men aged 18-49 play lots of video games.
2. Lots of people own consoles.
3. A lot of people watch American Idol.
4. Women play video games too!
5. A lot of kids play on the Wii, and they mostly play when they get
back from school.
6. Gamers who play on the 360 and PS3 — they tend to be older — play
in the evening.
7. Gamers are mostly playing on the PS2.
8. Gamers are getting interested in next-gen gaming.
9. The most played PC game is World of Warcraft.
10. After stating that the heaviest gamers play an average of 10 hours a week, Mr. Herrmann explained that he would rather use that time for
sleep.

Jean Snow

Under the partnership, SCEA will share game network traffic from the PS3 and Playstation Network (including Playstation Home) with Nielson. The data cruncher will then analyze and benchmark the data to create "new measurements for calculating the reach, frequency and effectiveness of game network advertising for the benefit of the entire industry."

That data will be combined with the information collected from more than 12,000 U.S. households to come up with usage and advertising details.

While I'm a little put off by a system that relies on data they don't pay for, this isn't really much different from Nielsen's approach to television ratings where they pay anywhere from $12 to $60 a year and half of any television repair bills. I suppose that's just the way Nielsen makes money.

NIELSEN AND SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA TO DEVELOP
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR GAME NETWORK ADVERTISING

Foster City, CA and New York, NY, July 2, 2007 — The Nielsen Company and Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced an initiative to develop a measurement system for game network advertising that will help make game software a more competitive advertising platform.

Under the arrangement, SCEA will share with Nielsen game network traffic and other data from its PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) systems and PLAYSTATION®Network, including PlayStation Home. Nielsen will then analyze and benchmark the data to create new measurements for calculating the reach, frequency and effectiveness of game network advertising for the benefit of the entire industry. Usage data provided by SCEA to Nielsen will include enabled first- and third-party software titles accessed through PS3s and PLAYSTATION Network. The initial rollout will begin in the North American market.

Developed and managed by Nielsen, an independent research organization with more than 75 years of experience in audience measurement, this innovative, fully-transparent and highly-accurate measurement system is intended to mitigate the risk to the advertiser and lead to the growth of the industry.

Highlights of the arrangement between Nielsen and SCEA include:

Nielsen will combine the SCEA census data with its own game usage data currently collected from more than 12,000 U.S. television households in its National People Meter panel to generate a more integrated view of usage and advertising performance.

Advertisers and agencies will be able to calculate CPMs across PS3s and PLAYSTATION Network with greater detail and accuracy.

This fall, Nielsen will begin monthly reporting on, and ranking of, audience statistics and user activity from across PLAYSTATION Network as part of its syndicated GamePlay Metrics measurement product, which is scheduled to launch in July 2007.

Nielsen is also working with SCEA to identify server data and determine media data formats that will greatly enhance SCEA's capabilities to deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time across PLAYSTATION Network.

The initial results of this joint effort are expected to be released later this year.

"SCEA and Nielsen intend to introduce a new kind of discipline and rigor to the measurement of game advertising that will create enormous value for advertisers, game publishers and game players alike," said Phil Rosenberg, senior vice president, SCEA. "Working closely with Nielsen, which has a global footprint that is well-aligned with our own, we look forward to clearly demonstrating the effectiveness and reach of both dynamic and static ad placement within games."

"SCEA's contribution of its game census data, combined with Nielsen's data sets, represents a milestone in our efforts to bring greater legitimacy and accuracy to game advertising measurement," said Jeff Herrmann, vice president of Nielsen Games "By marrying SCEA's server-side data traffic with our standard ratings metrics, we will be able to provide advertisers with a much more robust picture of the impact of their game network advertising and of those consumers who are actually playing games, all while preserving consumer privacy."

Today, Nielsen collects information on the general usage of game systems, connected and otherwise, through its National People Meter sample of more than 12,000 U.S. television households. At launch in July, Nielsen GamePlay Metrics will provide, for the first time, metered game usage and demographic information by game title, genre and platform that provides new insights into the popularity and usage of games among U.S. consumers - data that can better inform the buying and selling of in- and around-game advertising.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information including mobile media (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and online information. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, the ground-breaking PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and its online and network services the PLAYSTATION®Network and PLAYSTATION®Store.

Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the PSP system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment

"PLAYSTATION", "PlayStation", "PS one" and "PSP" are registered trademarks and "PS3" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

The study will be conducted on Sunday, March 5. Here's the contact info from the Star Wars Galaxies forums.

Please call our confirmation department toll free at (877) 862 - 3456 between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, 7 days a week, and state that you are interested in the "LOS ANGELES STAR WARS GALAXIES research" on March 5, 2006 to determine if you qualify for this exciting study. ALL Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley/South Bay/Inland Empire area welcome!

If you make the cut and go, make sure you email us after the survey to let us know what it was all about.

Nielsen Studies the "Active Gamer" [Game Daily Biz]