According to a new report published by Nielsen Co., this past June was a banner month in video game play. While sales of consoles might have been flat, it appears that those that already own a console (or two) spent record amounts of time (measured in minutes) gaming. According to a recent NPD Group survey June ’09 hardware sales took a beating, dropping 31 percent when compared to June ’08.

Compared to June 2008, Nielsen’s year-over-year numbers indicate a 21 percent increase in time spent with games. On average, gamers spent 12.8 hours playing during the month of June.

Of particular interest, the Nielsen survey clearly indicates that consumers have reached the crucial critical mass numbers with ‘new generation’ consoles, the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, as half the minutes played during the month of June were dedicated solely to these consoles. Nielsen’s director of video game services, Geraldo Guzman comments, “The transition has happened. Now that there is critical mass on the new generation of consoles, it gives marketers a chance to reach gamers on the platforms which offer in-game advertising.” An interesting point, as currently only the Xbox 360 and PS3 support dynamically served in-game advertising. However, let’s not forget about the recent WipEoutHD iga fiasco.

The Nielsen study also indicates that more than 50 percent of all gamers are over the age of 18 (insert marketing opportunity here), with teens 12 – 17 making up the largest segment of minutes played players, a massive 25 percent.