The video games development firms in the UK, of which there are many (including Traveller’s Tales in Manchester, who produced the Lego Star Wars games) look to be headed for boom times as news of the UK’s love affair with games consoles grows. GAME Group released figures recently claiming that the installed base for games consoles in the country has increased to 17.3 million, double its figure 12 months ago of just 8.8 million.

GAME also predicts that those numbers will increase to 21 million by Christmas.

According to the Entertainment Leisure & Software Publishers’ Association, the video games industry in the UK is the most important industry in the country’s creative sector.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, stated:

There can be little doubt that video games are now one of the major forms of entertainment in the UK.

Not only that, our industry is proving to be remarkably robust in the credit crunch.

The reason is very simple – games can offer terrific value for money.

I appreciate that it is only violent or controversial games that tend to garner tabloid headlines but the truth is that the overwhelming majority of games sold in this country are for all players of all ages – and that is why the Wii with games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit are proving to be amongst the nation’s enduring favourites.

The PS3 and the Xbox 360 have sold well in the UK, but the Nintendo Wii has been the biggest winner with an additional 2.5 million consoles in the UK. The DS Lite has also done well, selling an extra 3.3 million units in the last 12 months.