Britain has more online and console gamers than anywhere else in Europe, according to the 2009 UK National Gamers Survey.

Having surveyed 2,226 UK citizens aged eight and above from June to July 2009, TNS and Gamesindustry.com found that that 73 per cent of respondents regularly played games.

In total, 74 per cent of men older than eight years and with access to the internet indicated that they played games, compared to 71 per cent of women.

Console gaming was found to be the most popular, followed by PC gaming and playing online on game portals. Nevertheless, the study suggests that mobile phones and social networks such as MySpace and Facebook “are the game platforms of the future, although they are yet to properly take hold in the UK”.

Stephen Palmer, group director at TNS Technology, commented: “Gaming has rapidly expanded in popularity and now appeals to as wide an audience as TV and the internet. 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.”  SOURCE

Bungie’s latest debuts in highest position while The Beatles: Rock Band drops out of top ten in week ending September 26.

It may not have thundered with a launch programme as loud as that granted to its older brother, but it hasn’t stopped Halo 3: ODST’s week one sales being the 12th highest sell-through ever for a single format title in the UK, according to GfK Chart-Track. Day one sales accounted for 65 per cent of the week’s total.

The week’s other new entries, Professor Layton And Pandora's Box at two and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 at seven, join a chart otherwise dominated by the season’s strongest selling titles: Guitar Hero 5, which has dropped two places from last week to four; Batman: Arkham Asylum, down two to six; and Wii Sports Resort, which holds at five.

NCSoft’s PC MMOG Aion, meanwhile, debuts just outside the top 10 at eleven, while The Beatles: Rock Band drops to 13.

Need For Speed: Shift maintains a strong position, down from top last week to three, while Bethesda’s Wet, supported by a TV advertising campaign, hangs on in there at nine, down from six, and Colin McRae: Dirt 2 drifts from three to eight.