Gaming beats the big screen

Gaming has surpassed movie-going in popularity in the US, if market research by the NPD Group (via Joystiq) is to be believed, says 1UP.com.

According to the NPD report, 63% of Americans surveyed said they'd played a videogame in the last six months, while just 53% admitted to going out to movies during the same timeframe.

Anita Frazier, NPD gaming analyst, discussed the industry's rising popularity, stating, "Videogames account for one-third of the average monthly consumer spending in the US for core entertainment content, including music, videos, and games."

Salvation may be in sight for embattled Midway Games, as Warner Bros Entertainment has made a $33 million bid to buy most of the company's assets, according to the Washington Post.

The 'stalking horse' purchase agreement would include Midway's studios in Chicago and Seattle, and of course, the Mortal Kombat franchise, but not its studios in San Diego, the UK or the TNA fighting series.

If the deal goes through, this would be Warner's fourth major gaming acquisition: it bought out RPG developer Snowblind Studios in February; TT Games in 2007 and Monolith Productions in 2006.

TransGaming has revealed the creation of a game development studio and is partnering with Foreign Media Games on the development of its first title, 'Armin van Buuren - In the Mix' for the Nintendo Wii console, states Earth Times.

TransGaming specialises in the development of products for the electronic entertainment industry and is working with publishers on many of the top global gaming franchises.

According to the company, the creation of a game development studio will allow TransGaming to leverage its depth of technical experience while broadening its strategic relationships with game publishers globally.