• by Tameka Kee , July 27, 2007

More than 68 million people used a video game console last month, according to Nielsen. The audience measurement firm has released the first GamePlay Metrics report, providing advertisers with a granular read on PC and console video game usage in the U.S.

GamePlay Metrics found that despite industry perception, Sony's PlayStation 2 is the king of consoles. Nintendo's Wii may be the second-quarter '07 best-seller, but PlayStation 2 accounted for some 42% of all console game play in June, dwarfing the Wii's 4%. Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360 took second and third place--with 17%, and 8% of all console game play, respectively.

Blizzard Entertainment's "World of Warcraft" emerged as the most-played PC game in June, with users averaging 17 hours of game play per week. Microsoft's "Halo: Combat Evolved" came in second with an 8.5 hour average. EA's "The Sims" took third place, with players averaging about 4 hours weekly.

With GamePlay Metrics, Nielsen combines panel data from its People Meter TV sample and its PC-based Video Game Tracking Survey, with electronic data from specific audio signatures in console games. The goal is to provide advertisers with a view of video game player activity--both on its own merit, and in the context of a user's overall media consumption.

"This is the first glimpse of metered in-home video game player data, providing game publishers, console manufacturers, advertisers and competing entertainment media with the most accurate, objective, and quantifiable metric available," said Jeff Herrmann, Vice President of Nielsen Games and Nielsen Wireless. "We believe this will change the discussions surrounding which games get developed for what consoles and how publishers represent their actual audience to advertisers."