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.
Google was the most popular website with U.S. Internet users, drawing the largest audience (120 million unique visitors per month, on average) through October 2008.
As of 2008, the most prolific content downloaders in the U.S. live in California, according to Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron. The San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose market had the highest percentage (32%) of adults who had downloaded …

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 …

American consumers will continue to shift their gift buying online this holiday season, citing convenience, time saving, and price according to Nielsen Online. Amid the current economic downturn, 53% of consumers cite price as a reason to buy online, compared with 46% last year. However, convenience continues to trump price as 76% of consumers cite the ability to shop 24 hours a day and 74% cite time saving as key factors for choosing online shopping.
The results are based on a Nielsen Online survey, conducted November 6-11, intended to gauge online …

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% …

With Nielsen Business Media’s Marketing to Men 18-34 conference convening in New York City Tuesday and Wednesday, Nielsen assembled a full round-up of TV, online, mobile, and gaming data to illuminate how these younger male consumers use media.
Television
-Men typically watch less TV than women their age — with one exception: male teens actually watch more TV than female teens.  Men ages 18 to 34 tend to watch more cable and pay channels, while women gravitate to broadcast networks.
-When it comes to sports programming on TV, men 18-34 are more attentive viewers (+12%) than women of the …

Nielsen is forecasting sales of more than $98 billion for the November-December 2008 holiday retail season.  But amid worsening economic conditions, U.S. consumers are likely to be more cautious than ever with their spending. 
A recent Nielsen survey of 21,000 U.S. households found that 35% plan to spend less this year than they did in 2007.  Just 6% will spend more this year, while 50% say they’ll maintain the same level of spending from 2007.
Lower-income households reported large reductions in their holiday spending — but so did high income households.  In all, 37% …

Ads in video games may be more effective than previously assumed, Mediaweek reported Monday. 
According to a new study by Nielsen Games, more than one-third (36%) of gamers bought, talked about, or sought information about a product after seeing it advertised in a video game.
Coke, Nike, Burger King, Axe, Pepsi, and Pontiac were cited by respondents as the most-recalled brands. 
Of the 534 active video game players surveyed by Nielsen, 11% purchased a brand advertised in a game or sought more information about it, 19% talked about a brand after seeing an in-game ad, …

RANK
CONSOLE
USAGE
MINUTES % *

1
PlayStation 2
31.5

2
Xbox 360
16.8

3
Wii
15.0

4
Xbox
8.7

5
PlayStation 3
7.8

6
GameCube
4.0

7
Other**
16.2

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 1, 2008 – July 31, 2008)
*Usage Minutes % is the percent of all measured console minutes.
**”Other” consists of any other console systems found in the home

RANK
GAME TITLE
PUBLISHER
AU% *
AVERAGE
MINUTES
PLAYED
PER WEEK
TMP% **

1
World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment
0.871
892
18.058

2
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Activision
0.213
560
4.431

3
Diablo II
Blizzard Entertainment
0.150
359
3.109

4
Halo: Combat Evolved
Microsoft Game Studios
0.135
367
2.782

5
Age of Conan – Hyborian Adventures
Funcom
0.118
746
2.442

6
Sims 2, The
Electronic Arts Inc.
0.108
334
2.228

7
Team Fortress 2
Valve
0.107
590
2.222

8
Counter-Strike: Source
Valve
0.098
703
2.033

9
Grand Theft Auto
ASC Games
0.095
405
1.983

10
Warcraft III (Unspecified)
Blizzard Entertainment
0.091
638
1.907

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 1, 2008 – July 31, 2008)
*AU% is the percent of PC Gamers playing title in the average minute.
**Overall TMP% is the percent of total minutes played as compared to all PC games measured.

Rockstar Games’ “Grand Theft Auto IV” is one of the strongest brands in recent video game history, according to a new study by Nielsen.
In general, awareness of the “Grand Theft Auto” brand is significant, compared with games such as Microsoft’s “Halo 3,” Konami’s “Metal Gear Solid 4,” and Electronic Arts’ “Madden NFL 08,” Nielsen found. 
Of the 6,000 video gamers surveyed, 23% entered “GTA IV,” unaided by survey questions and prompts, as a game they were thinking about.  Only “Halo 3″ had a higher level of unaided brand awareness (32%). 
The results …