Games Outsell Music And Video In UK
Video games will soon be Britain’s number one form of entertainment, as retail experts reported Wednesday that video games are expected to outsell music and other video products this year for the first time.
The video game market could grow by 1.37 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) or 42 percent in 2008, outstripping music and video sales, according to predictions from Verdict Research, which publishes studies on the retail industry.
The report’s author, Malcolm Pinkerton, said the music and video market is not just suffering from a slowing of growth but a massive transfer of spend to online.
"So in actual fact, the sales via high street shops are being hit a lot harder than the overall growth figures would suggest."
In the last five years the video games market has more than doubled in value, while music sales have stagnated.
While increasing digital download sales had boosted the music sector, it is still suffering from piracy, price deflation, intense competition and a decline in physical CD sales, the report said.
“Music stores are now diversifying their products to allocate more space to MP3 players, books and games,” said Pinkerton.
The report suggested newer innovative technology, such as that offered by the Nintendo Wii, had given a boost to the games market, making it more popular with the mainstream.
“As more people save money by staying in, a video game, although it may cost three of four times as much as a DVD or CD, offers much more longevity and hence better value for money,” said Matthew Piner, author of the Video Games and Consoles Retailing report.
However, retailers warn that the Verdict report may not provide a completely accurate picture.
"There is no doubt that the games sector is having a fantastic year," says Steve Redmond of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), "but these figures overstate that by including games hardware."
"Our prediction is that games will overtake video by the end of this year," said Redmond, "but not music and video combined."
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