With gamers expected to rush out en mass to buy Modern Warfare 2 this week, retailers may be just as excited for the release as even the biggest COD franchise fans.

Despite increased optimism about the economy, the social media landscape indicates that we are in a similar place to where we were this time last year.

With the release today of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, PS3 fans are getting their hands on the second iteration of the highly acclaimed series of adventure games.

Few can question the legacy The Beatles left on the music world in the 20th century, but will millennial video gamers (most born long after the band’s split 40 years ago) be abuzz with Beatlemania?

Solitaire may be as sticky as World of Warcraft. While users of casual electronic games (card games, puzzles, etc.) spend less time per session playing them than those playing non-casual games (role playing games, shooter games, etc.) they are just as likely to return to them months later.

A review of Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking data (tabulated weekly since July 2005) for the Madden football franchise reaffirms that Madden is a household name among active gamers like AAA brands such as Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Mario. August usually belongs to Madden, with few other notable titles released during this time. Below are insights into this year’s iteration, Madden NFL 10.

Madden NFL 10 dominates the sports genre in several metrics, including unaided and aided awareness and definite purchase interest among active gamers.

Key …

Nielsen video game data released today shows that Video Gamers are playing more this summer than last. Total video game console usage minutes in June 2009 went up 21% from the the previous June. The average console gamer played 768 minutes on consoles during this year’s June reporting month.

The latest from Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking service, shows Activision’s highly-anticipated first-person shooter Modern Warfare 2 benefits substantially from association with its multi-platinum parent franchise Call of Duty. While the title of the game was simply Modern Warfare 2 through early July, Activision recently decided to ensure gamers recognized the November-bound title as a true sequel to 2007’s hit Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare by including the Call of Duty prefix in the game title.
By comparing consumer response from Video Game Tracking before and after the name change, …

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 …

Summer blockbuster season is in full swing, bringing with it video games tied to the latest cinematic franchises. Additionally, this spring and summer features game releases that are offshoots of the classic Batman, Ghostbusters and The Godfather franchises. Though dismissed in the past, movie games are garnering more attention in the entertainment industry as studios look to leverage the value of their franchises.
According to recent data from Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking survey, movie-themed games are driving substantial purchase interest among gamers. X-Men Origins: Wolverine tops the list in terms …