Big numbers have come from a 2009 National Gamers Survey that show just how popular videogames have become in Blighty. The study reveals that 73% of the British public regularly game, with the medium now considered as popular as the Internet and television. Good stuff.

Console gaming was said to be the most popular form of interactive entertainment, followed by PC gaming. Mobile games and social networks are not yet quite as widespread, but the study believes that such outlets are "the game platforms of the future." 

"Gaming has rapidly expanded in popularity and now appeals to as wide an audience as TV and the Internet," says Stephen Palmer,  group director at TNS Technology. "In several cases, young and old are even moving away from traditional media and spend their free time playing games instead.

"The variety of games on offer has drawn in segments of the population that would not ordinarily be associated with gaming, which has turned the traditional view of the ‘gamer’ on its head. With the pressure put on media through advertising cuts, gaming is emerging as the forum through which to target consumers of the future."

Videogames. People like them.