The video and computer games market continues to grow despite a lack of recent hardware releases and a perceived crisis in UK software development. In consoles, Sony maintained their apparent unassailable position as number one while Microsoft stole a march over Nintendo. Since Mintel last analysed this market (September 2002), the emergence of online network games has seen PC gaming reach a new broader audience, with women taking an equal, if not prominent, share of the casual gaming market.

The video and computer games market continues to grow despite a lack of recent hardware releases and a perceived crisis in UK software development. In consoles, Sony maintained their apparent unassailable position as number one while Microsoft stole a march over Nintendo. Since Mintel last analysed this market (September 2002), the emergence of online network games has seen PC gaming reach a new broader audience, with women taking an equal, if not prominent, share of the casual gaming market.

This report looks at the present state of the UK video game market and all of the factors that have an impact on it. The consumer research carried out for the report analyses ownership by product, as well as, unique to this report, views on the future of the market, providing the industry with insights into consumers' intentions.

Mintel’s exclusive research offers business driving insight into market factors, technology, market sizes and segmentation, distribution and the consumer. Major topics discussed in depth include:

The video game industry’s product cycle,

Forecasted growth for the market.

Game consoles penetration rates and the popularity of online gaming

The growing importance of console functionality as purchase driver

The impact on the market of the launch of Microsoft’s X-box 2 ahead of Sony’s PS3.