Group: Families turning to video games

LONDON, July 5 (UPI) -- British families increasingly are turning to video games for entertainment as the ongoing credit crisis restricts their finances, a game maker says.

The British video game company Game Group said it will earn $66 million in pre-tax profits during the first six months of this year as more families focus on such home-based entertainment, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Analysts say the rising success of video fare such as "Mario Kart" and "Wii Fit" is due, in part, to the credit crisis that is forcing parents to rethink how to entertain their children on a limited budget.

"People thinks video games offer good value for money because they offer lots of hours of play," Screen Digest senior analyst Piers Harding-Rolls said. "The industry has also been helped by some big titles such as the 'Wii Fit,' which appeal to women and to people of all ages."

The British newspaper said while video game sales are climbing during the crisis, cinema attendance is plummeting. Separate figures indicate credit stresses may result in cinema sales reaching a record low for the last eight years, the newspaper said.