Sony Computer Entertainment America has signed up with research firm Nielsen to measure the effectiveness of in-game advertising, but it’s just one of the first steps in a much broader goal, Nielsen told Next-Gen today.
When TV execs refer to "the ratings," they're talking about Nielsen ratings. If it's up to New York City-based Nielsen, videogame execs will someday be following Nielsen ratings just as closely.

Today's new partnership with Sony will enable more in-depth examination of PlayStation gamers’ habits with the ultimate goal of making videogames a more viable advertising platform.

Nielsen rep Karen Gyimesi told Next-Gen in a phone interview that the firm will be plugging into its National People Meter to compile the videogame data for Sony. The 12,000-household U.S. National People Meter is the same base where Nielsen draws its popular TV ratings stats.

Gyimesi stated, “Any videogame device that hooks up to the TV, we are able to measure,” which is the reason Nielsen finds the videogame console market an ideal starting point for its videogame initiative.

As part of the deal, Sony will share with Nielsen game network traffic and other data from PlayStation 3 consoles, PlayStation Network and the upcoming PlayStation Home. Nielsen will then analyze and benchmark the data to calculate “reach, frequency and effectiveness of game network advertising,” according to a statement.

Gyimesi added that Nielsen is still deciding which statistics would best benefit Sony’s in-game advertising initiatives.

First- and third-party software titles will be surveyed. Nielsen will be managing the measurement system.

Nielsen announced its plans to enter the videogame fray last fall with the introduction of GamePlay Metrics, which is due to launch this month. Nielsen will begin monthly reporting and ranking of videogame stats this fall.

Nielsen’s TV ratings are the standard for entertainment professionals. The company’s goal is to eventually have a ratings system for videogames comparable to the one it has for TV.

It’s going to take a lot of work to reach that goal, and today’s Sony partnership is one of the first steps. The company also hopes to eventually track online gaming habits with the help of the Nielsen NetRatings arm, which measures Internet usage. “We don’t have it pinned down yet, we have tons of ideas, but we haven’t created the exact measurement of what we think is going to benefit the ad community the best,” Gyimesi said.

“We’re lucky we have a leg up on the console area,” she continued. “We’re already in homes across the country measuring TVs. We know when they’re playing a videogame on a console. But now we’re going to be able to pinpoint what games they’re playing, who in the home is playing that game and how long they’re interacting with it. That’s the first step, then the online, then the mobile gaming.”