The Jon Peddie Research Institute announced Tuesday that PC gaming is holding strong during these troubling economic times. JPR, a multimedia consulting firm, found that although spending has slowed on PC gaming hardware, as in other areas of gaming, it has slowed less. Data charting spending the PC-game hardware market in 2008 and 2009 shows a downward trend, from $20.07 billion to $18.65 billion.

So why is JPR forecasting a near $5 billion increase in spending by 2010? The firm foresees a trend of people staying home more, going out less to movies, putting a hold on vacation plans, and turning toward more economical forms of entertainment. You can buy a game for $50, for example, and get hundreds of hours of amusement--and a computer doubles as a way not only to play games but also to watch TV and create video.

The NPD Group, a leader in marketing research for the entertainment industry, agrees. When it asked Americans if they had gone to the movies or played video games in the past six months: 63% answered they had played a video game and only 53% claimed to have seen a movie.