14 DAY TRIAL // The march of videogames to world domination is not slowing down. In the roughly 30 years since videogames have been around, they have become more and more important, both on a cultural and on an economical level. Some day, all other forms of entertainment that rely on visuals and sound to deliver an experience will have to bow down to the mighty videogames. But while it might take a while to conquer the world of entertainment, the videogame industry sure beats the DVD sales segment when it comes to making money.
Recent market data has already shown that the revenue obtained from game sales in the United States is bigger than the revenue generated from ticket sales for new movie releases. While this is good news for the videogame industry, it is worth noting that movies are re-released on DVDs, creating another revenue stream and then show up for rental, which adds another source of income for film makers. Meanwhile, games rarely get re-releases and the game rental business is just beginning to develop.
The Entertainment Merchants Association has published an annual report offering interesting data regarding DVD sales. The Digital Entertainment Group is quoted as saying that DVDs brought in 16 billion dollars in 2007, while Adams Media Research puts the figure at 15.9 billion dollars. The NPD Group, which specializes in tracking videogame sales, says that the US videogames industry generated income of 18.85 billion dollars in 2007. So, there you have it, definitive proof that gaming is bigger than watching DVDs.
To put things in perspective, it's worth mentioning that ticket and DVD sales, plus DVD rentals brought in more than 33 billion dollars for the movie industry, so game sales need to double to surpass the movie industry. It's going to take a few more years, but games are getting there and will surely win the competition.