Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

According to research undertaken by the Daily Telegraph, video games are now bigger than film in the UK.

The figures state that the UK public spent more on video games than on DVD and cinema sales combined in the twelve months leading to September 2009. This, the paper says, is “the clearest evidence yet that the video games market has come of age and transformed itself from a niche form of entertainment for teenage boys into a mainstream form of entertainment for millions of British families.”

With £1.73 billion gaming sales in the last 12 months – £500 million more than was spent on film – the number of consoles in Britain has “shot up” from 13.5 million a year ago to over 25 million in 2009 – enough for nine out of every ten households. Family-favourite Nintendo and the immensely popular Wii and DS ranges are credited in part for this staggering increase.

“The growth in Wii sales has stalled,” says Guy Cocker at GameSpot, “but Nintendo has done phenomenally well and shown that gaming could be enjoyed by young children, women and older consumers.”

Unsurprisingly, this has (once again) caught the attention of Westminster, particularly former Cabinet Office minister Tom Watson.

“Like anything digital, Parliament has a very narrow view of video games,” he said. “Too many politicians think video games are played by teenage boys staying up all night shooting things in their bedroom. And yes there are plenty of those, but there also a huge range of people of many different ages who love playing games. The industry has matured over the last decade, and so too have gamers.”

Does this news come as surprise to you? If so, why – and if not, why not? And should politicians in the UK – or, indeed, anywhere – be involved in the gaming industry?

Via Telegraph UK