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 …

Figures released earlier this week by Nielsen Mobile estimate that 19 million people (7% of wireless subscribers) have downloaded mobile video games.
Newcomer “Guitar Hero III” and classics like “Tetris” and “PAC-MAN” were among the top-selling games for Q1 2008, according to Nielsen.
The research also shows that since December 2007, total purchases of “Guitar Hero III” have increased each month, making it the most successful game in the fast-growing rhythm game genre.
Overall Top 5 Game Titles (by revenue share):
1.  Tetris
2.  Bejeweled
3.  Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
4.  Guitar Hero III
5.  …