A recent report from research firm Nielsen suggests gaming's share of entertainment spending per US household decreased last year as consumers shifted their pennies towards leisure activities.
Gaming's share of entertainment spend per household dropped from 9.3 percent in 2009 to 8.5 percent in 2010, it reports.
Meanwhile, the share of entertainment budgets dedicated to leisure activities such as eating out, shopping and going to parks rose from 20.4 percent in 2009 to 25.1 percent in 2010.
According to Nielsen, these shifts occurred as overall household leisure budgets among video game buying homes increased by nine percent over 2009.
"It appears that while overall leisure budgets increased year-over-year, not all media and entertainment categories benefited equally," the firm said. "Out of home activities (such as dining out) and cell phone-related entertainment saw gains, but at the expense of video games and other forms of entertainment.
"While the share of the leisure budget dedicated to video games decreased slightly, the number of actual dollars reportedly spent on video games was nearly even in 2010 versus 2009," it added.
"Amidst a rising tide in overall leisure spending, standing still or losing dollars added up to a smaller share of wallet for video games, movie-going, DVDs / Blu-rays, music and print media."
Xbox 360 was the top selling console in the US in January, according to data released by the NPD Group last week.
[ Source: Nielsen ]
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/28 ... es-report/I only go to the cinema now if it's almost guaranteed to be worth my time, and I usually don't pay the RRP on anything - I still buy a good mixture of books, games, comics, and the occasional DVD though
