But while the Entertainment Retailers Association admits that "the games sector is having a fantastic year," it told the BBC that Verdict's estimate is a bit off.

"These figures overstate by including games hardware [but not CD or DVD hardware]," explained Entertainment Retailers Association representative Steve Redmond, echoing the industry response that emerged the last time this issue came up.

However, even with hardware sales taken out of the equation, the ERA still believes that games will "overtake video by the end of this year, but not music and video combined."