Independent media regulator Ofcom has found that the playing of computer games has become the most popular form of online media consumption in the UK, surpassing the downloading of music and video as a popular internet pastime."Thirty-nine per cent of internet users claim to play games online (38% in Q1 2009), compared to 38% who claim to download music and films online (39% in Q1 2009), the next most popular category," reads
the report. "Among 15-24 year olds, the figure for both activities now stands at 55%, up from 53% for playing games and from 51% for downloading content since Q1 2009."
Ofcom also discovered that
games consoles are helping to prop up the TV industry, by becoming key platforms in the distribution of video. One in ten households with either a Wii or PlayStation 3 used it to access the BBC iPlayer on their television sets, accounting for 10% of all requests for the service in February 2010.
Despite this, the BBC appears to have painted a rather curious picture when pinpointing the importance of computer games in our daily lives. Focusing on the '
multi-tasking media user,' the Beeb cite a graph that suggests that an average of only 15 minutes per day is spent playing 'Games,' compared to 212 for 'all video' (read: TV) and 91 for 'all audio' (read: Radio). Hmmmm.