British gamers bought 10.3 million games in the first three months of this year, an increase of 24% on the same period last year.

Games buyers ignored more expensive new releases in favour of cheaper games, many of which have been available for some time.

The European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) said it is only a 5.2% increase in sales revenue, to �218.7m, and is due to a significant fall in the price of discs and cartridges.

Costcutting

Sony has a large range of low price games for its Playstation console, under the platinum label. These games cost between �9.99 and �19.99 as opposed to between �29.99 and �39.99 for new releases.

Sega's Dreamcast console, which recently ceased production, is now host to a range of cut-price software as shops attempt to rid themselves of obsolete stock.

According to ELSPA, the widening gap between sales volume and revenue showed the ever-increasing popularity of games while also highlighting the competitive nature of the UK market.

Console games, such as those for Sony's PlayStation, remained the largest market sector. More than six million console games were sold in the first three months of this year.