A new study has found that a quarter of gamers in the United Kingdom have downloaded and paid for complete games or extra levels via their console.

The role of brick and mortar game retailers is diminishing, according to the UK National Gamers Survey 2009. Seven per cent of console owners said that they usually buy games as downloads via their console, compared to 14 per cent of PC gamers. The figures rise to 16 per cent and 23 per cent in the US.

Speakers at today's London Games Conference will predict that digital distribution is set to outstrip traditional retail sales within three years, and suggest that 40 per cent of companies within the games sector are unprepared for the rate at which this shift will take place.

55 per cent of the UK population play games on consoles, 35 per cent on PC and 19 per cent on mobile phones, according to survey conductors TNS and Gamesindustry.com.

The 2009 UK National Gamers Survey is part of a series of national surveys conducted in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, the UK and the US with more than 13,000 respondents.