Fewer consumers to gift games this year - NPD

Gamers hoping to be showered with the latest console and portable hits this holiday season may want to set aside some money to pick up must-haves for themselves. A survey from the market research firm NPD Group shows the percentage of US consumers intending to give games as gifts on the decline.

Of nearly 2,000 survey respondents polled last month, the NPD Group found 20 percent of them expected to give someone a game this year, down from 22 percent in 2008. While the decrease is mild, games were one of only two categories in the top 10 to become less common as intended gifts. Some 34 percent of survey takers plan to give toys this year, down from 37 percent last year. Books, electronics, music, and food all saw 1 percent gains year-over-year, while staples like clothing and movies had no change in gift-giving intent.

The NPD Group also found that consumers are planning to spend less overall this holiday season. When asked if they planned to spend more, the same, or less on the holidays as compared to the previous year, 30 percent said they were cutting back. That's up 4 percent from 2008, but NPD chief industry analyst Marshal Cohen said not to expect that to translate into a disastrous holiday season at retail.

"I think consumers will be looking for the right gift, rather than the most extravagant or expensive one," Cohen said in an NPD statement. "That combined with the soft numbers we are up against from holiday last year, and I think we will see growth, albeit a modest 0.5 to 1.5 percent."

Within the gaming industry, analysts have been expecting a return to positive growth in the final stretch of 2009. That turnaround might start this week, as Thursday will see the release of NPD figures that analysts expect to break a six-month streak of declining software sales.