Consoles key to driving digital content into homes, says report

Games consoles will be the main drivers for digital content in the home by 2012, according to a new report from ABI Research.

The firm expects that 184 million household devices will provide digital content in homes by 2012, with games machines accounting for 85 per cent of delivery.

"The manufacturers are aiming to make their consoles more like media centre devices, rather than just being for gaming," commented Steve Wilson, analyst at the New York firm.

"The advantage they have is market share: their products ship in large volumes. The big question is whether gamers will actually make use of this added functionality built into their consoles," he added.

Computer and gaming manufacturers are leading the pack when it comes to providing digital content to home users says the report.

"The opportunity is there for consumer electronics manufacturers to embed this technology, although so far it is largely the computer network manufacturers who are embracing the concept," said ABI Research.