Nielsen to Start Tracking Games?

Darth Quorthon · Post by **Darth Quorthon** » 2006-10-18 11:10pm

After years of preparation, Nielsen Media Research, famed for its influential television ratings, is planning to provide its usage-tracking ratings for games, the firm announced today.

The rating system will monitor the goings-on of game consoles, including next-generation models such as Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Data will include which games are played most frequently, along with corresponding information about the demographics of the players. The video-game rating system is also intended to offer insight into what television and Internet trends the players follow. Called GamePlay Metrics, it will be the first project to come out of Nielsen's new Wireless and Interactive Services Division, which itself launched today.

By offering statistical data on game use, Nielsen said advertisers that target games and their players will be able to better pinpoint their audiences and which titles are potentially the most lucrative. In-game advertising has recently been on the rise, and technology's mainstays are noticing: Microsoft, for example, snapped up game ad leader Massive in the spring.

Let me see if I have this straight: Now, in addition to Nielsen families for TV shows, we'll also have them for video game consoles?

Yogi · Post by **Yogi** » 2006-10-18 11:53pm

Why is this needed? Neilsens are used for TV because otherwise, there's no way to tell what is being watched. For video games, they can just track sales records.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2006-10-19 12:23am

Yogi wrote:Why is this needed? Neilsens are used for TV because otherwise, there's no way to tell what is being watched. For video games, they can just track sales records.

To an extent. It tells you that some one, some where bought the game. No where does it say whether the purchaser enjoyed it, played it through or replayed it constantly, whether it was a way to kill a few minutes or an epic slog, and a whole bunch of other criteria.

bilateralrope · Post by **bilateralrope** » 2006-10-19 12:37am

Stormbringer wrote:
Yogi wrote:Why is this needed? Neilsens are used for TV because otherwise, there's no way to tell what is being watched. For video games, they can just track sales records.
To an extent. It tells you that some one, some where bought the game. No where does it say whether the purchaser enjoyed it, played it through or replayed it constantly, whether it was a way to kill a few minutes or an epic slog, and a whole bunch of other criteria.

For TV programs the money is made from the advertising, so you need to keep track of which programs have more viewers so the advertisiers can tell which programs will be better to advertise during.

For computer games the money is made when the game is sold. From the developers point of view it doesn't matter if no-one plays it. Unless the game then makes use of some resource the developer provides (patching, online servers, etc) then it doesn't really matter how much the game is played. And if it uses an online resourse, you can track that on the server.

So I dont see what use this data will be to anyone.

ThatGuyFromThatPlace · Post by **ThatGuyFromThatPlace** » 2006-10-19 02:02am

It's all part of the coporations never-ending quest to know everything about everyone

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2006-10-19 07:52am

bilateralrope wrote:For computer games the money is made when the game is sold. From the developers point of view it doesn't matter if no-one plays it. Unless the game then makes use of some resource the developer provides (patching, online servers, etc) then it doesn't really matter how much the game is played. And if it uses an online resourse, you can track that on the server.

So I dont see what use this data will be to anyone.

Just off the top of my head...

1) Knowing which games from their collections that people continue to play on a regular basis would allow developers to target their game development towards styles of games that they know people are currently enjoying.

2) Being able to demonstrate to firms how often your games are being played by the consumers who bought them allows you to better sell in-game advertising opportunities to them.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2006-10-19 08:22am

And i read tracking as in motion tracking. Damn, what a disapointment.

Genii Lodus · Post by **Genii Lodus** » 2006-10-19 09:21am

More detailed metrics than this can identify the parts of games players spend time in. Its a useful tool for developers to be able to see where they can focus their effort although from what I've heard it tends to be used as an excuse to not make secret areas which only 5% of players ever see. I can't remember the exact statistic but way less than half of all games bought are ever completed. On the flip side of that it means developers arent going to waste time=money on stuff few people get to see and improve the parts that most/everybody gets to see. Not that less secret content pleases me but anything that stops developers wasting money and going bust can't be a bad thing. Although the omnipresent monitoring of my game playing would annoy me since I don't want anyone knowing how bad I am at some games!

ThatGuyFromThatPlace · Post by **ThatGuyFromThatPlace** » 2006-10-19 08:24pm

but programming secret content is fun! even in simple little C++ and Java games I can't help myself but to add little secrets regardless of whether anyone will ever 'see' them or not.

not that I'm a game developer for a major studio (or any studio for that matter) but I doubt 'secret' content will disapear even if the corporations try to crack down on it (which would be a bad thing anyway.)