Myth busted as gamers shown to be CD fans too

Contrary to popular belief, gamers who spend a considerable amount of time fragging friends in Halo, or jumping around in Super Mario Galaxy, actually spend more of their hard-earned cash on non-gaming entertainment, like CDs and DVDs, than games.

That's according to a new study from research firm NPD Group. It claims that gamers have quickly become "three-dimensional" and no longer fit into a category that had historically cannibalised sales of other media.

Gamers to the rescue

"While it's true that growth was centred on gaming last year, core gamers - those who played video games daily or several times each week - still spent most of their entertainment budgets on non-gaming entertainment," the NPD Group reported.

"These consumers remain more likely to buy a DVD or CD than they are to purchase a new video game. In fact, 58 per cent had purchased a new DVD in the past six months, 46 per cent bought a CD, and 43 per cent purchased a game for a console."

As sales of video games have grown in popularity, many mainstream entertainment groups have claimed the increase would lead to a downturn in CD and DVD sales that could cripple the music and movie industries. But although sales have indeed slumped, it looks like those groups no longer have any recourse against you or your World of Warcraft buddies.