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Entertainment Media Research has released the results of a digitalentertainment survey of 1,608 UK respondents commissioned by Wiggin, aboutique law firm working in the media sector. The respondents were selected to be representative of the nationaldemographic - 50 per cent were female and 52 per cent were between theage of 35 and 54.
Among the activities audited were gaming, gambling, socialnetworking and communications, reading magazines and novels, listeningto radio, unauthorised downloads, movies, television, mobile phones andmusic/podcasts.
Traditional media still dominates in the UK, with 51 per cent of therespondents listening to the radio, 47 per cent reading printed books,45 per cent watching television, and 41 per cent reading newspapers.
As far as gaming is concerned, 21 per cent of respondents play PCgames offline, 20 per cent play PC games online, 17 per cent playhandheld games, and only 12 per cent play console games - the samepercentage who play mobile phone games.
When asked their intentions for take-up of activities they were notcurrently participating in, 24 per cent said that they intended tostart watching HD movie discs within the next six months.
Within the next six months, 13 per cent plan on making calls withSkype or other online services and 12 per cent plan to watch televisionon their PCs via a tv-card/USB tuner.
The highest game-related take-up was the intention to play consoleonline games, with 8 per cent of the respondents saying that they planto do so in the next six months.
Lest you think the respondents may be techno-phobic, 73 per cent ofthem own a digital camera, 62 per cent own a mobile phone with Internetaccess, 50 per cent have a wireless network at home, 41 per cent own aDVD recorder and 30 per cent own an iPod.
Games, however, are not high on the list of ownership with only 16per cent reporting that they own a Nintendo Wii, 13 per cent owning anXbox 360 and 10 per cent owning a PS3.
When asked their reasons for not purchasing a specific currentgeneration console, the number one response across all platforms wasthat the systems were too expensive - although the percentage is higherfor the PS3 (46 per cent) than for the Wii (38 per cent).
The second reason for not purchasing a specific console is that the games are too expensive.
As far as purchase intentions are concerned, the respondents showeda slight preference for the PS3 over the Xbox 360 - 9 per cent to 6 percent - but the Wii still led with 15 per cent.
Looking at the general attitudes of respondents, a full 84 per centthink games are too expensive, 74 per cent think they can be finishedtoo quickly for the price and 73 per cent find console exclusivity tobe frustrating.
The realism of violence in some games was a concern for half of therespondents, but was clearly higher amongst older and female gamers -69 per cent of females 45-54 considered this a problem.
In summary, the survey organisers noted a divide in digitalentertainment take-up and technology ownership between consumers ofdifferent ages.
Quote:
"For the teenager, digital entertainment and communications is atits heart whereas the older consumer is still far more reliant ontraditional media," the report said.
"This is also reflected in marked differences in the technologyowned by younger and older consumers. Younger consumers are much morelikely to be hooked up to the digital world, with next generation gamesconsoles, wireless networks, advanced mobile phones and digital musicplayers."
The organisers concluded that there is a much bigger marketavailable for consumer technology and digital media in the UK, providedthat barriers such as awareness, understanding and acceptance can beovercome.