|
Top 20 Games to Watch – Gamers Make Their Holiday Wish Lists Which video game titles top gamers’ wish lists this year? Nielsen’s Top 20 Games to Watch reveals the most anticipated games of the 2011 holiday season, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the most coveted among active U.S. gamers. The list was developed by examining a variety of consumer measures from Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking survey, including the top five titles active gamers are considering for purchase. To help narrow the focus of this analysis, Nielsen filtered the field to those titles releasing on at least one of the three major consoles (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii) during the timeframe of late August to late November. This year’s list underscores the various interests of gamers—as well as the strength of video game brands. All but one of the Top 20 titles stem from a franchise, with brands such as Madden NFL and The Legend of Zelda dating back more than 20 years. Deep Silver’s Dead Island represents the lone new IP included on this year’s list. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, an expected juggernaut for this holiday season, is desired by more than one quarter (27%) of active gamers. Microsoft’s Gears of War 3 and EA’s Madden NFL 12 follow closely behind; both titles were selected by nearly one out of every five (19%) active gamers. Apart from Gears of War 3 for Xbox 360, other platform exclusives expected to resonate strongly with consumers in the coming months include Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii and Sony’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception for PS3. Nielsen’s Top 20 Games to Watch is supplemented by information from NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company, which analyzed the primary elements driving consumers’ online conversations around each title. Recent consumer buzz shows that those anticipating Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations are excited for the return of multi-player functionality to the franchise, while gamers looking forward to Warner Bros Interactive’s Batman: Arkham City are speculating on the villains they’ll face in the new title. Fans of EA’s FIFA franchise are hoping for more pro and career mode options in the upcoming iteration, and those addicted to Microsoft’s Dance Central are rejoicing in the news that they’ll be able to import tracks from the original title into the sequel. While Action/Adventure games hold the most spots in the Top 20, the list is a testament to the diverse interests of today’s gamers—from the intense action of First Person Shooters like Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, to the energetic enthusiasm of Music / Rhythm games such as Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3, to the epic sense of adventure in Bethesda’s RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Sports and racing titles like 2K’s NBA 2K12 and EA’s Need For Speed: The Run are represented as well. * Data collected between the timeframe of August 21 – September 17, during which ~ 5,000 active gamers were interviewed for Video Game Tracking via online survey, and 417,433,251 online conversations were examined by NM Incite.
** Top 5 is the proportion of respondents that rank each title in their top five titles being considered for purchase. Percents shown are among those active gamers that qualify for at least one platform on which the title is being released. |
Nielsen’s Top 20 Games to Watch for Holiday 2011
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 27%
2. Gears of War 3 19%
3. Madden NFL 12 19%
4. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations 17%
5. Batman: Arkham City 15%
6. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 14%
7. Battlefield 3 12%
8. Just Dance 3 12%
9. NBA 2K12 9%
10. Need for Speed: The Run 9%
11. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception 9%
12. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 8%
13. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 8%
14. FIFA Soccer 12 8%
15. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 8%
16. Dead Island 7%
17. Kinect Sports: Season 2 6%
18. Resistance 3 4%
19. Dance Central 2 4%
20. Deus Ex: Human Revolution 3%
