Concern for consoles as spending on video games drops

By Rick Kelsey on Oxford Street, London
Newsbeat reporter Queues in Central London for the new Wii U games console

The amount of money being spent on traditional games consoles has dropped dramatically, new figures suggest.

However, profit from mobile games and apps is expected to rise by more than 70% by the end of 2012.

Console spending still outsells the mobile market by almost five to one but the gap is closing.

The world's top gaming firms hope the launch of Nintendo's Wii U will boost console sales while others say the industry has already moved on.

If the queues at the launch of the system on London's Oxford Street are anything to go by it would be difficult to know consoles are struggling for sales.

Ben Prah says he mainly plays consoles and not smartphone games

Ben Prah, 21, is a student and said: "Smartphones have a place, they are fun if you're on a train and need some time to kill.

"But if I want to play a game for a long period of time it's always got to be consoles to be fair."

Hundreds of people waited outside in the cold to be among the first to get hold of the industry's latest console.

The machine, the first traditional console to be launched in five years, comes with a touch screen tablet-like controller.

It's designed to open up new gaming possibilities for things like maps and ways to see objects hidden on the main display.

Melis Duruturk, 18 and a student from Holloway in north London, thinks consoles allow more people to get involved.

She said: "I'm excited about a new console as it has a new controller, new ideas of multi-play and it connects to the TV which is really exciting.

"If you don't want to connect it you can just play it in your hand."

Melis Duruturk, 18, thinks consoles allow more people to get involved

There are also new control mechanisms, most notably the touch screen, although its sensitivity has been questioned and there were software problems following the US launch.

The games industry hopes its latest device will help it keep pace with the expanding market of mobile gaming.

Increasing amounts of people with smartphones and tablets allow them to game on the move more with their existing devices.

The figures, from video games analysts IHS, suggest spending on consoles has fallen 20% in the last two years.

Dr Richard Wilson, from Tiga which represents the video games industry, said the mobile gaming market had grown without much promotion.

"It's driven by the increasing sales of smartphones and tablets and those are going through the roof," he said.