Game Sales Overtake DVD, Blu-ray in 2008
The worldwide video game market grew 20%, now at $32 billion, while Blu-ray and DVD sales were down 6%, bringing in $29 billion. In all, "retail sales of packaged home entertainment" were up 6% in 2008, to $61 billion, reports Video Business.
While GfK's figures did not include rental revenue, it is not known if they account for hardware sales. U.S. game sales were said to surpass DVD sales in 2007, so long as video game hardware was included and the sales of DVD playback hardware wasn't.
The Entertainment Retailers Association had previously estimated that UK game sales would surpass those of DVD in 2008, even with hardware taken out of the equation.
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true, but that's not the point here, it's all about dollar amounts, if anything it just means that the games industry is more efficient. I do however think that video rentals should be included as there is a huge market in rental stores and netflix/blockbuster online services where as I don't think games have nearly as strong of a rental market.
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Well I think for one think when a movie is made they hire a bunch of people for X amount of time that are union people or in SAG or whatever it is, then the movie finishes and they get rid of everyone. It goes in cycles. Where a game studio instead hires people and keeps them even in between projects. So a game studio probably burns more money between projects than a movie studio. But I am just making some guesses here. It is probably like 10 different reasons. Games are riskier, the people who make them are much worse at general business.
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Movies have many more avenues for generating sales. First you release the movie to the theater and make some money there. Then you release it to DVD and BluRay and make more money. Then there's the sound track. Then sell toys and memorabilia. Finally, you license it to HBO and milk reruns for years.
With a game, you sell the game... and it either sells or doesn't. (Except WoW where you can turn your character into a figurine or whatever)
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