US: Games claim 5% of entertainment spend

Video gaming now claims a higher proportion of US homes’ entertainment spend than print media, premium TV, DVD, Blu-ray, movie rentals or music.

That’s according to a new report from Nielsen which states that 4.9 per cent of the total amount of money spent by US households now goes on games. Amongst households that ever buy games, 9.3 per cent is dedicated to the hobby.

This compares favourably to print media (4.2 per cent), TV subscriptions (4.1 per cent), DVD/Blu-ray/rentals (3.5 per cent ) and music (2.8 per cent).

In addition, the report also reveals that 24 per cent of US households spend at least $1 on gaming per month.

Nielsen’s full analysis, called Nielsen 360 Gaming Report: United States Market, will be released next month.