US Game Sales Pass DVD Sales, Still Lag Behind Greater Movie Biz

[Dr.Finger]

For years the video game industry has been using somewhat wonky numbers while claiming they are larger than the movie industry. But it appears that even using solid numbers the industry has now surpassed the DVD market for total sales.

According to the NPD Group's year-end figures, the US retail gaming industry took in $18.85 billion during 2007. That's nearly twice the Motion Picture Association of America and Nielsen EDI's record-setting US box office take of $9.6 billion for the year. The gaming industry even surpassed DVD sales in 2007, reported to be $16 billion by the Digital Entertainment Group and $15.9 billion by Adams Media Research.While interactive entertainment has passed both box office sales and DVD sales, it still has a ways to go before it really passes the movie industry as a whole, which took in over $33 billion in box office receipts, DVD sales and movie rentals.

Source - Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/pages/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26464499&part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6193240).

Huzzah? I guess?

[Sammael]

I'm sure the inflated game prices are helping that cause.

How much for Guitar Hero?

Are they also taking into account how Gamestop is raping everyone on used prices? Or are re-sales not counted? Because that may be the deciding factor.

No matter how much the game industry does, snobs will always say it's for kids and virgins...

[mkelehan]

Okay, so it beat theatrical films, it beat DVD sales, it beat DVD rentals, but it didn't beat all three combined. I think that's still pretty good.

[Commissar Rob]

Or are re-sales not counted? Because that may be the deciding factor.
That's a good question. I re-read the article, but it's not at all clear what they're counting or not counting. Do they count things like subscription fees for MMOs (he says noting the WoW banner at the top of the page)?

Still, nice to see the industry is healthy and profitable.

[Dr.Finger]

I'm fairly sure they don't count MMO subs, since they're not sales but subscriptions. Likewise I doubt they count digital downloads/PPV purchases of anything. Used games I'm not sure about, but considering how big the market also is for used DVD, I don't think it would have shifted the margins much in any case.

[biosc1]

Okay, so it beat theatrical films, it beat DVD sales, it beat DVD rentals, but it didn't beat all three combined. I think that's still pretty good.

I agree. When you think that a certain percentage of people may do all three...go to a movie, like it...rent it, like it so much they buy it.

There are also more people who go see a movie in a theatre and then rent or buy the movie afterwards.

Basically, I would only compare game sales to DVD sales or theatrical releases and not both. I would then compare game rentals to DVD rentals.

[Valkyrist]

Meh. I wasn't aware we were competing, or that I had to validate my gaming hobby against my movie hobby. When there's good movies out, I go watch them. When there's good games out, I go play them. If there are neither good movies or games out, I play WoW.

[eth3rton]

I doubt they are counting used anything.... It'll be a long time before they pass up the box office though....

[NightRain]

I doubt they are counting used anything.... It'll be a long time before they pass up the box office though....

They have already beat the Box Office sales. The just have beat total movie sales. That is the Box Office + Home Video combined.

[RMan]

Yea, those comparisons are always hard, if not impossible. I've also always seen people talk about the movie industry, but not count DVD player sales, while counting game system sales. Also, how much of HBO and other movie channel revenues count, since their primary draw is movie content? The amount we spend on movies is harder to nail down than games, IMO.

[Talon-]

This is just flat-out wrong. Turns out that the "game sales" category actually includes software, hardware and accessories.

Apples to oranges, people.