How have gamers responded to the recession? While much of the conversation has focused on fluctuations in new game sales, a new study “The Value Gamer: Play and Purchase Behavior in a Recession” by the Nielsen Company shows there is much more to the story. Over the past several months, the number of hours that gamers claim to be playing is at an all time high, part of a rising trend in gameplay that began in 2007. Additionally, gamers have increased their purchase of used games to record-breaking totals since …

Video games are attracting more people than ever.  Traditionally the realm of younger males, gaming has grown increasingly popular among women, older players and other demographic groups.  And while the weak economy has had an effect on many forms of entertainment, video games have shown an amazing resilience, with sales of both gaming consoles and games continuing to show healthy growth.  These are just a few of the findings of a new comprehensive report on PC game and video game console usage from Nielsen Games.
In addition to gaming consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox, PC …

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 …

Blizzard Entertainment’s “World of Warcraft” dominated Nielsen Games’ ranking of the most popular PC game titles for October, claiming more than 62% of the total PC game minutes played during the month. 

Rank
Top 10 PC Game Titles:
October 2008
Publisher
Share
Avg. Mins
Per Week
TMP%

1
World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment
12.509
546
62.280

2
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Blizzard Entertainment
1.890
328
4.751

3
Half-Life 2
Vivendi Games
1.917
288
4.301

4
Spore
Electric Entertainment
2.234
268
4.220

5
Bookworm
PopCap Games
3.074
133
2.716

6
Cake Mania 3
Sandlot Games
4.260
138
2.709

7
Virtual Villagers: The Secret City
Wild Games
1.567
204
2.456

8
Chessmaster Challenge
PlayFirst
8.856
47
2.123

9
Halo: Combat Evolved
Microsoft Game Studios
2.005
165
2.105

10
Build-a-Lot 2: Town Of The Year
HipSoft LLC
1.661
183
1.668

Source: Nielsen Games
Share is the percentage of the gaming audience measured that played the title
Overall TMP% represents the percent of total minutes played …

Nielsen Games released its data for the most popular PC game titles and most-played console types for September, a month in which casual games saw heavy PC gameplay.
Top 10 PC Game Titles: September 2008

RANK
Game
Publisher
Share
Avg. Mins
Per Week
TMP%

1
World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment
13.775
599
69.301

2
Cake Mania 3
Sandlot Games
5.252
114
2.383

3
SKIP-BO Castaway Caper
RealArcade
4.263
94
2.278

4
Diner Dash 2
PlayFirst
3.396
99
2.021

5
Chessmaster Challenge
PlayFirst
7.095
53
1.864

6
Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
Big Fish Games, Inc
3.212
124
1.671

7
Zoo Tycoon
Microsoft Game Studios
2.144
96
0.873

8
Diner Dash: Seasonal Snack Pack
PlayFirst
3.495
57
0.814

9
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
Big Fish Games, Inc
2.107
73
0.677

10
Polar Bowler
WildTangent, Inc.
3.165
32
0.386

Source: Nielsen GamesShare is the percentage of the gaming audience measured that played the titleOverall TMP% …