Nielsen GamePlay Metrics results

Nielsen has released the first batch of data from its recently-launched GamePlay Metrics service.

The company determined that 68.1 million individuals used a videogame console in June, playing an average of 7.5 days during the month. The PlayStation 2 was the most-played console, accounting for 42 per cent of the total console usage.

On the PC side, World of Warcraft was the clear favorite, played four times as much as any other PC game. Halo: Combat Evolved, The Sims, Halo 2, and RuneScape rounded out the top five most-played titles.

"With Nielsen GamePlay Metrics, we have significantly advanced the understanding of how video game consoles are used and which games are actually being played," said Jeff Herrmann, vice president of Nielsen Games and Nielsen Wireless.

"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."

The Xbox 360 accounted for eight per cent of console playing time. Its users logged in an average of 2.2 sessions per day, with an average session length of 61 minutes. The PS3 accounted for 1.5 per cent of console usage. Its users logged in an average of 1.9 sessions per day with an average session length of 83 minutes-the longest playing session of all consoles studied.

The Wii, by comparison, accounted for four per cent of overall console playing time. Its users logged in an average of 1.78 sessions per day with an average session length of 57 minutes.