So far this year, the NPD Group has offered mostly grim news when it comes to US non-PC game sales at retail. October represented the seventh out of eight months to see year-over-year declines, as total sales came in at $1.07 billion, 19 percent below the same period in 2008. Today, the stat-tracking firm had a measure of good news, revealing that online game subscriptions, along with other entertainment services, remain strong.

　　Online games are becoming increasingly popular, even if online game players are not. According to NPD's "Entertainment Trends in America" study, individual consumer spending on entertainment-content subscriptions reached $115 through August 2009, a nearly 7 percent uptick compared to the same period a year ago. Notably, 14 percent of US households subscribed to online gaming services. NPD did not provide a 2008 percentage for comparison and had not responded to requests for clarification as of press time.

　　NPD's study also found that 81 percent of US households subscribe to a television service, such as satellite TV or cable, with 76 percent of families paying for an Internet subscription. Online music and satellite radio subscriptions stood at 17 percent. Thanks to the increasing proliferation of smart phone technology, such as Apple's iPhone, mobile data plans have also risen this year, jumping from 6 percent of US consumers to 9 percent.

　　Home video subscriptions have risen from 12 percent to 14 percent of US consumers this year. Subscriptions to services, such as Netflix, which offers online video streaming, has been a particularly hot topic in the gaming industry of late. In November 2008, Microsoft integrated Netflix into Xbox Live, and Sony began offering the company's video-streaming service through the PlayStation 3 this month. Speculation persists that Nintendo will begin offering Netflix for the Wii next year.

　　While the stat-tracking firm noted that the aforementioned digital subscriptions were on the rise, traditional media has suffered. Newspaper subscriptions fell to 29 percent of US consumers in August 2009, a 2 percent dip. Magazine subscriptions have also dipped 2 percentage points this year, slipping to 41 percent of all consumers.