The BBC is reporting that video games, just the games not hardware, will start outselling videos by the end of the year. Of course that little estimate is found at the bottom of a story that is headlined “Games to outsell music, video”. The story leads off by saying UK sales of games will outstrip music and video combined this year. Later on in the story someone points out that the video gaming sales figures include hardware while the video and music figures don’t.
The music and video market is not just suffering from a slowing of growth but a massive transfer of spend to online," says Malcolm Pinkerton of Verdict Research. It is online sales of CDs and DVDs that have grown rapidly, rather than digital downloads, which still only account for around 4% of music and video sales. In contrast, video games spending has enjoyed explosive growth, with the launch of major new titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV and FIFA 08, and the Nintendo Wii continuing to broaden the appeal of games.
The story wraps up by pointing out that major British retailers like HMV and Zavvi are changing their store layouts, cutting back on the space they give music and using it for MP3 players, books, clothing and, yes, even video games. Games to Outsell Music, Video [BBC]