Research data from Nielsen now indicates that U.S.-based video game buyers are spending less money on games and are instead focusing more on cell phone and leisure entertainment. Nielsen says that overall game sales were down in 2010, but gamers around the country are putting money towards entertainment on the whole.
Gaming purchases represented a total of 8.5 percent in 2010. This figure is down slightly from 2009’s figure of 9.3 percent. This is in contrast with the entertainment budget, which jumped from 20.4 percent in 2009 to 25.1 percent in 2010.
"These decreases [in game spend and other categories] took place even as household leisure budgets increased by 9 percent from 2009 among video game buying homes," said Nielsen on their blog. Nielsen was quick to point out that overall purchasing in terms of money spent remained about the same from last year.
The study also went on to show that gamers have been focusing less time on activities such as movie going, physical media renting and even buying subscription based TV packages. Physical sales of music and print media also declined amongst the U.S. video gaming population.
Overall, the U.S. gaming buying population grew from 2009. Buying households now make up 26 percent of the U.S., up from 24 percent in 2009. Nielsen’s criteria for homes to fit into the category are for any home that purchases $1 or more per month on gaming.
Nielsen did note that the trend seems to be going towards mobile titles. Gamers seem to be moving away from console titles, in terms of money spent. "The same logic may apply to the other categories that experienced slight declines in share. The screen is shifting but the content may be the same," concludes Nielsen.
