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Consumers to carry on spending - NPD

Report indicates 65% of people will spend at least as much on games in 2009 as last year

A recent survey conducted by The NPD Group revealed that 65 per cent of consumers will spend either the same or more on videogames in 2009 than they will in 2008. This data comes from the market research company’s latest Entertainment Trends in America report.

The report, which surveyed over 10,000 US consumers on all forms of entertainment spending, also revealed that in the prior three months, 36 per cent of respondents purchased a videogame for either a portable or home console. This is second only to DVD and Blu-ray discs, which were purchased by 51 per cent of those surveyed, while CDs lagged behind at 31 per cent.

"Even in the face of a down economy, entertainment remains a popular spending category," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. "Most consumers say they’ll continue to purchase at least the same amount of many entertainment categories in the coming year."

The report further indicates that the average entertainment budget per capita in the US is USD 160 per month, noting that most of this budget is used on subscription-based services that include television and internet access. Though many analysts predicted that entertainment revenue would go down this year, the NPD notes that the only clear decline in subscriptions was for magazines and newspapers.