Trends in 2009 include a rise in households that have “cut the cord” by trading their traditional landlines for wireless cellular services and an increase in mobile media device usage among a diverse set of households.

While many consumers cut back their spending on entertaining outside of the home in 2009, that didn’t necessarily translate to increases inside the home.

Half of all U.S. households own a video game console or handheld system—and despite the stereotypes about teenage males, gamers are not monolithic. While gamers spend most on new games, game rentals provide an extra conduit to spark sales.

Video games based on films have long provided fans an opportunity to enhance their movie experience by taking control of the central characters and reliving the action firsthand.

With gamers expected to rush out en mass to buy Modern Warfare 2 this week, retailers may be just as excited for the release as even the biggest COD franchise fans.

Despite increased optimism about the economy, the social media landscape indicates that we are in a similar place to where we were this time last year.

With the release today of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, PS3 fans are getting their hands on the second iteration of the highly acclaimed series of adventure games.

Few can question the legacy The Beatles left on the music world in the 20th century, but will millennial video gamers (most born long after the band’s split 40 years ago) be abuzz with Beatlemania?

Solitaire may be as sticky as World of Warcraft. While users of casual electronic games (card games, puzzles, etc.) spend less time per session playing them than those playing non-casual games (role playing games, shooter games, etc.) they are just as likely to return to them months later.

A review of Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking data (tabulated weekly since July 2005) for the Madden football franchise reaffirms that Madden is a household name among active gamers like AAA brands such as Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Mario. August usually belongs to Madden, with few other notable titles released during this time. Below are insights into this year’s iteration, Madden NFL 10.

Madden NFL 10 dominates the sports genre in several metrics, including unaided and aided awareness and definite purchase interest among active gamers.

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