Normally we don't put much faith in survey statistics, but the NPD Group is quite reputable and this survey happens to be pretty wide-ranging. Recently the research firm inquired to 11,000 US citizens about their cinema habits versus their gaming habits, and it turns out gaming is now a more popular activity than going to the silver screen show.
According to the data, 63 percent played a game within the last six months, with 53 percent having gone to the theater. Further on that, 10 percent played "social network" videogames, and five percent bought a game from a digital download service. NPD's video game industry analyst Anita Frazier stated games account for one-third the average monthly spending on entertainment (music, video, and games) for a US citizen.
“While a portion of that share stems from the premium price of console games," she says, "we’re also seeing an overall increase in the number of people participating in gaming year-over-year."
Of course, as noted in our Theaters trying moving seats in effort to lure movie-goers article yesterday, that old passtime is fading somewhat due to home cinemas, not to mention the higher cost of ticket prices and the recession. Nonetheless, it is impressive gaming seems to have 'overtaken' the cinema industry, if only for a time.
