"More smartphone owners are playing games than using business related applications on their device," claims a new report from marketing research firm The NPD Group.

Specifically, iPhone users saw the greatest growth in game-playing time across the past three month. That coincides with the launch of the iTunes App Store in early July, which brought games and other custom applications to the iPhone-owning masses.

Unsurprisingly, the study found that smartphones are still primarily used for communication purposes such as phone calls, e-mails and text messages, with 46% of those surveyed reportedly using their smartphones more now than 3 months ago.

In all, NPD reports that portable devices, such as the iPod, iPhone, PSP, Nintendo DS, and smartphones, saw the most usage in-home, suggesting that "these devices may be competing with more stationary entertainment devices for a user's time."

For a look at the report's methodology, check below... Read more

Furthering the eternal struggle between games and other forms of entertainment, a new report from research firm Verdict predicts that the UK retail revenue from video game sales will surpass that of both CDs and DVDs during 2008.

But while the Entertainment Retailers Association admits that "the games sector is having a fantastic year," it told the BBC that Verdict's estimate is a bit off.

"These figures overstate by including games hardware [but not CD or DVD hardware]," explained Entertainment Retailers Association representative Steve Redmond, echoing the industry response that emerged the last time this issue came up.

However, even with hardware sales taken out of the equation, the ERA still believes that games will "overtake video by the end of this year, but not music and video combined."

It's a good day for surveys, as the latest one from Yahoo! women's site Shine and Sony came back with a bunch of numbers showing that gaming is overwhelmingly good for the kids.

According to a Sony press release, the survey found that parents that respondents are highly involved in their children's gaming habits. "87% of parents who participated in the survey are spending time playing video games with their children," reads the release.

80% of parents also said they purchase all games for their children. "The ultimate parental controls are parents themselves," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment.

Survey respondents also credited games for their children's stat boosts... Read more

The Pew Research Center, a non-profit "fact tank" that often turns its eye to the American media, has released its report on youth gaming habits. The outlook, it turns out, is rather good.

The study issued a questionnaire to 1,102 teens aged 12-17, boys and girls, and found that virtually all American youths--86 percent--play console games. Whether on a PC or a console, 76% of kids play online.

By Pew's survey, "the five most popular games among American teens are Guitar Hero, Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire, and Dance Dance Revolution." By genre, racing, puzzle and sports games were the most popular, while virtual worlds (such as Second Life), MMOs, and survival horror titles were the least played.

Interestingly, the survey found that the social implications of multiplayer and online gaming could actually be healthy. Pew found that 65% of kids play their main game with friends in the same room. And when playing online, 70% play with ... Read more

"The Wii is a relatively inhospitable platform for third-party publishers," said analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company in a report relayed by GamesIndustry.

Creutz clearly had a look at yesterday's NPD numbers in which Wii games took four slots on August's top ten console sales chart. Of those four, three were developed by Nintendo, and the fourth was annual sales juggernaut Madden NFL 09.

"The Wii version of Madden 09 sold 79 per cent less units than the PS3 version and 87 per cent less units than the 360 version, despite a larger console installed base," Creutz observed. By the numbers, even the PlayStation 2 version sold over three times as many copies as the Wii version.

Blake's take: When you sell the only current-generation system that allows selling "budget" games when they launch, you're bound to wind up with a library of games that aren't hits. Microsoft, for example, forbade selling games below a $40 price point at launch. The policy reared its head when Rockstar launched its table tennis game at $40, leading consumers to question the game's price tag. The logic, supposedly, was to restrict the console's library to games with more value in them.... Read more

Electronic Arts and Activision, the two largest publishers in the video games industry, are estimated to release a staggering 75 percent of this season's console games, according to a new report from European market research group Screen Digest.

EA looks to lead the time between July and September with 21 releases including major sports franchises like Madden NFL and NCAA Football. Activision will come in a close second with 19 titles --such as Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Ferrari Challenge-- in the same time frame.

While it is unclear whether these numbers apply only to the European market or worldwide, the two companies' clout will carry into the fourth quarter, where the two companies will still account for 40 percent of all releases.

All publishers ramp up their efforts for Q4 but according to the report EA and Activision appear to be getting a head start as both are "ramping up release volumes to similar levels in both calendar Q3 and Q4."

The recently formed PC Gaming Alliance industry consortium today unveiled the initial results from its first Horizons Report, highlighting what PCGA president Randy Stude refers to as "incredible growth in online PC Gaming."

According to the report, PC gaming was a $10.7 billion industry in 2007, with sales from digital distribution nearing $2 billion and in-game and web advertising bringing in $800 million. Online PC gaming brought in $4.8 billion, almost double that of retail PC sales.

"Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming, proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported," explained Stude. "Today's consumers shop where they live--online."

Overall, the study found that growth was driven by online revenue from Asia, which accounted for almost half of the total worldwide sales, and noted that revenues are expected to grow as developers embrace online distribution and other opportunities.

"By pioneering new business models, the PC has quietly remained the single leading platform for games, not only in terms of consumer usage, but revenue generation," commented DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole. "The most fascinating thing about PC gaming is its ability to attract such a diverse audience, both demographically and geographically."

PCs are used for gaming more than any console and PlayStation 3 owners are more likely to have multiple consoles, according to the results of the Games Segmentation 2008 report from sales tracking and research firm The NPD Group.

In addition to stating that PlayStation 3 owners are most likely to have other "next-generation" consoles than Wii and Xbox 360 owners, NPD claimed that only 10% of PS2 owners have a PS3. In the realm of portables, 45% of PSP owners have a Nintendo DS, but only 21% of DS owners have a PSP.

Despite the broad declarations, NPD did not provide specific figures for console and PC playtime. Likewise, an exact breakdown showing the ownership patterns of those that have multiple "next-generation" consoles was absent from the release.

Using information gathered back in January and February, the report... Read more