More people in America play video games than go to the cinema, according to a recent survey carried out by the NPD group.

Around two-thirds (63 per cent) of North Americans have played a game in the past six months, whereas only 53 per cent have gone to the movies in the same period.

The survey also maps the ever-increasing importance of casual games. Ten per cent of North Americans had played a game on a social network, while five percent have paid to download a game.

But it’s not just new audiences that are driving the growth of casual, online, and social network games. Among consumers who play console or portable games, 31 per cent said they have played a game on a gaming website; 12 per cent have played on a social networking site.

Those same gamers were equally warming to mobile games, with 19 per cent playing a game bundled with their mobile phone, and 11 per cent actively purchasing a game for their mobile.

“As with video and music, sales of physical gaming products still account for the bulk of consumer spending on video games, but digital downloads and other delivery and game-play formats are also rising in popularity,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD.

The new statistics come from NPD’s Entertainment Trends in America study, which has surveyed over 11,000 North Americans via online questionnaire.