Majority of Brits are now gamers

A new report from games market research firm Newzoo has revealed that the majority of UK nationals are now active gamers.

In total it estimates the 31m of the 60m people in the UK population now spend money on games. 49m are active internet users.

And while the console sector remains under pressure, it’s still the most lucrative platform with an estimated 1.6bn to be spent on console gaming in 2011.

This is followed by 450m on PC/Mac games, 400m on casual games, 350m on MMOs, 330m on PC/Mac downloads and 300m on mobile gaming.

In total Brits spend 43m hours gaming every day, with consoles accounting for 21 per cent of that figure. Social networks claim 18 per cent and casual games 17 per cent.

The average UK gamer plays on 3.9 platforms, with casual gaming websites the most popular, closely followed by console gaming.

However, Newzoo does forecast a slight drop in total gaming expenditure in 2011, falling from 3.7bn in 2010 to 3.6bn this year. A modest two per cent growth is forecast for 2012.

In the period from 2009 to 2012 it predicts the social gaming and MMO market to grow by 40 per cent with digital distribution climbing 11 per cent. Console gaming, on the other hand, could decline by as much as 11 per cent.

"Compared to the US, the UK shows a more traditional divide of money spent by consumers, with 56 per cent spent on console and boxed PC/Mac games, whereas in the US, this figure has dropped to 45 per cent," Newzoo CEO and co-founder Peter Warman stated.

"No other country surveyed shows such a significant difference between time and money spent. For instance, in the UK, online and mobile gaming takes 60 per cent of time but only 35 per cent of money.

"We expect the free-to-play business models on all platforms, including consoles, to not only push the UK market back to growth but also decrease the current gap between time and money spent."

The full infographic can be found below.