The good news is that the typical consumer continues to spend about $160 a month on entertainment, according to NPD Group. The bad news is that most of that money is going to dedicated subscriptions for television and Internet access. That hasn’t affected GameStop, which again heads the grouping and enjoyed a 24.1 percent gain in revenues last year, nor music download innovator iTunes and the Netflix movie delivery service, but Barnes & Noble, Borders, Blockbuster and Trans World Entertainment all suffered declines.

The marketplace remains competitive, with poachers all over the place. Best Buy, Amazon.com and Toys “R” Us, for example, are either testing or have instituted game recycling services, cutting into a very profitable niche for GameStop. Websites have popped up providing swapping and other options for used games and consoles. Games publishers are bypassing the retail pipeline altogether, creating games and game episodes that are directly downloadable to Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation3 consoles.

The popularity of Amazon’s e-book reader Kindle is an ongoing thorn in the sides of booksellers, and even trendy Hot Topic, with its music-oriented apparel and accessories, has launched music site ShockHound.

In light of the problems bricks-and-mortar entertainment chains are encountering, it is worth noting that neighborhood book and record shops seem to have stabilized — and may even be growing in number.

From 2000 to 2008, 3,000 U.S. record stores closed, including major chains such as Tower Records, Virgin Music, Sam Goody and Music¬-land, according to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail in Studio City, Calif. But the rejuvenation of the vinyl LP is helping to sustain independent record stores: Nielsen SoundScan reports that 1.88 million vinyl albums were sold last year, up 89 percent from 2007 and more than in any year since 1991.