Video game market beats recession

Video games are a relatively cheap form of home entertainment

The video games market appears to be bucking the economic slowdown and enjoying spectacular sales, according to a new analyst report.

DFC Intelligence forecasts worldwide spending on games software and hardware to hit $57bn in 2009, and 11 countries will see national sales top $1bn.

"Consumer spending on software is at record levels and the games business seems to benefit from a recession because they are a relatively cheap form of home entertainment," said DFC analyst David Cole.

The best selling console is the Nintendo Wii, which is dominating the market at the moment.

However, the analysts predict that the PlayStation 3 will catch up, and that software sales for Sony's console will match the Wii's by 2012.

"The Wii does not appear to be a fad and it has the chance to be one of the best selling systems of all-time," said Cole.

The most used platform for computer gaming remains the PC. Computer games for the PC were worth $7bn in 2007 and are expected to reach $19bn by 2013.