Nielsen Wire » mobile games

App-Happy with Android: The Most Popular Android Apps by Age

Nielsen Wire — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:25:34 +0000

Facebook and apps from Google like Gmail and the Android Market are the most popular smartphone apps among Android owners 18 years and older in the U.S. according to Nielsen’s latest research on smartphone usage. To rank mobile apps by active reach, that is, by the percentage of Android owners who used the app within the past 30 days, Nielsen analyzed usage data from its proprietary device meters on the smartphones of the thousands of consumer panelists who agreed to be part of Nielsen’s ongoing Smartphone Analytics research.

Staying Social
Facebook’s popular app is the most active among Android owners 18-24 and 25-34, who both hover at around an 80 percent active reach. Additionally, more than three quarters of users 35-44 used the app recently as well.

Google’s YouTube app gets heavy usage from Android smartphone owners 18 -24: 64 percent have used it in the past 30 days, compared to 56 percent and 51 percent of 25-34 and 35-44 year olds. A preference for media apps with a social dimension (e.g. Words with Friends) among the 18-24 set is also reinforced by their sizable usage of music and video apps (e.g. Pandora) compared to older demographics.

Play Time
Not just for the kids, the ubiquitous game, Angry Birds, appeals more to those 35-44 when compared to other age groups: 35 percent of them have used the app in the last 30 days, while only 22 percent of those 18-24 and 29 percent of 25-34 year-olds launched the game.

Apps and More for Sale
Apart from gaming, the 35-44 segment demonstrates a greater inclination to shop using the Amazon AppStore: 24 percent of them used the app in the last 30 days, while only 14 percent of those 18-24 did the same. Groupon appeals more to those 25-34, not even making the top 20 ranking for those 18-24. A similar trend was found on Google+: active reach was higher for those 25 and older when compared to the 18-24 demographic.

Play Before Work: Games Most Popular Mobile App Category in US

jeffb — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:06:49 +0000

Games continue to be the most popular app category, and according to Nielsen research, 93 percent of app downloaders — those who have downloaded an app within the past 30 days – are willing to pay for the games they play. In contrast, only 76 percent of downloaders are willing to pay for news apps.

Among smartphone consumers who have played mobile games in the past 30 days, those with iPhones, Windows 7 phones or Android phones are the most likely to have downloaded the games they played, while those with Blackberry phones or featurephones tend to play pre-loaded games. The average mobile gamer plays an average of 7.8 hours a month. Those with iPhones tend to play around 14.7 hours each month while those with Android smartphones play around 9.3 hours per month.

(Chart data represents smartphone consumers who have played a mobile game in the past 30 days)

Tops In 2008: Top Game Consoles, PC And Mobile Games

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:20:07 +0000

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

Sony’s Playstation 2 was the top game console of 2008, claiming 31.7% of all measured console minutes, according to Nielsen. The Xbox 360 and Wii ranked second and third, respectively, with 17.2% and 13.4% of all usage minutes between January and October of this year.

Blizzard Entertainment’s “World of Warcraft” was the most popular PC game title of the year, drawing an average of 0.723% of all PC gamers per minute between January and October 2008.

Among mobile gamers, “Tetris” was the top game for Q3 2008, in terms of share of revenue.

Top 10 PC Game Titles: U.S.

Rank	Game Title	Publisher	AU%	Average Minutes Played Per Week
1	World of Warcraft	Blizzard Entertainment	0.723%	671
2	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Activision	0.163%	403
3	Halo: Combat Evolved	Microsoft Game Studios	0.092%	295
4	Sims, The	Electronic Arts Inc.	0.09%	213
5	Sims 2, The	Electronic Arts Inc.	0.086%	291
6	RuneScape	Jagex Ltd.	0.084%	451
7	Diablo II	Blizzard Entertainment	0.065%	313
8	Team Fortress 2	Valve	0.063%	371
9	Counter-Strike	Sierra Studios	0.062%	282
10	Counter-Strike: Source	Valve	0.061%	426
Source: The Nielsen Company (January – October 2008). Note: AU% is the percent of PC Gamers playing title in the average minute.

Top 10 Mobile Games By Revenue Share: U.S. – Q3 2008

Rank	Game	Share of Revenue
1	Tetris	7.0%
2	Bejeweled	4.0%
3	Guitar Hero III	3.6%
4	Wheel of Fortune	2.6%
5	PAC-MAN	2.5%
6	The Oregon Trail	1.9%
7	Ms. PAC-MAN	1.7%
8	Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?	1.6%
8	Tetris Mania	1.6%
9	Surviving High School	1.2%
Source: The Nielsen Company (July – September 2008).
“Note: Data is based on carrier-billed revenue at the top four U.S. carriers. Data includes post-paid, personally liable lines only.”

Top Video Game Consoles By Usage

Rank	Console	Usage Minutes %
1	PlayStation 2	31.7
2	Xbox 360	17.2
3	Wii	13.4
4	Xbox	9.7
5	PlayStation 3	7.3
6	GameCube	4.6
7	Other	16.2
Source: The Nielsen Company (January – October 2008). Note: Usage Minutes % is the percent of all measured console minutes. “Other” consists of any other console systems found in the home.

View the press release.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Forbes.

Relive the greatest hits of 2008 — stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for more Tops In 2008 coverage.

Look ahead to the new year with Nielsen Wire’s 2009 Industry Outlook series.