If gaming companies are able to reduce the costs of consoles, their popularity may rise even further, Robert Kotick, . "The price on platforms today has still not gotten down to mass-market price points and I think when you're in the economic circumstances that the world has found itself in, there really is a difference between a [US]$199 game system and a $299 game system," he said in the article.

The fact that video games and gaming systems are still selling well during a severe economic downturn are a good sign, he added. "There's probably more opportunity for our industry than just about any other industry I can think of other than maybe bankruptcy lawyers," he said.

The NPD Group used online survey responses collected in January 2009 from approximately 20,000 gamers.