2008 Nowhere to Be Found in Nielsen’s Most Played PC Games of 2008

Research group The Nielsen Company recently released a list of 2008’s 10 most played PC games, but seeing as how you’re probably still scraping bolded numbers off your monitor after you last careened into our list sanctum, we nearly skipped it. However, as it turns out, Nielsen’s runway strut contained a pretty interesting anomaly, so we want you to look at it.

Top 10 PC Game Titles in the U.S.

1. World of Warcraft (2004) / Blizzard Entertainment 671 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.723% AU*
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) / Infinity Ward 403 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.163% AU*
3. Halo: Combat Evolved (2003) / Gearbox, Bungie 295 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.092% AU*
4. The Sims (2000) / EA Maxis 213 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.09% AU*
5. The Sims 2 (2004) / EA Maxis 291 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.086% AU*
6. RuneScape (2001) / Jagex Ltd. 451 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.084% AU*
7. Diablo II (2000) / Blizzard Entertainment 313 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.065% AU*
8. Team Fortress 2 (2007) / Valve 371 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.063% AU*
9. Counter-Strike (2000) / Valve 282 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.062% AU*
10. Counter-Strike: Source (2004) / Valve 426 Avg Minutes Played Per Week / 0.061% AU*

*AU is the percent of PC Gamers playing title in the average minute.
Data from Jan - Oct 2008.

Notice anything? Yep. Not a single game on the list was released in 2008 – except for maybe WoW: WotLK, but even then, this is telling sign of where PC gaming now needs to park its tuckus. Bottom line: Subscriptions and microtransactions. You’re welcome, industry. Our bill’s in the mail.