The Daily Telegraph has been doing some research into what we spent most of our money on this year and games came out ahead a movies.
The paper says, "This is the clearest evidence yet that the video games market has come of age and transformed itself from a niche form of entertainment for teenage boys into a mainstream form of entertainment for millions of British families."
We've been telling the world that for years.
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Apparently, in the twelve months to the end of September 2009, £1.73 billion was spent on games says GFK Chart-Track. The UK Film Council reckons £1 billion was spent at the British box office during the same period, with a further £198 million spent on films released on DVD and Blu-ray. "Only television - including DVDs of television shows, along with the cost of the license and satellite subscriptions - and music are bigger forms of entertainment," says article writer Harry Wallop (what a name).
Tom Watson, the former Cabinet Office minister, said the stats were proof that the industry needs to be taken seriously. "Like anything digital, Parliament has a very narrow view of video games. Too many politicians think video games are played by teenage boys staying up all night shooting things in their bedroom.
"And yes there are plenty of those, but there is also a huge range of people of many different ages who love playing games. The industry has matured over the last decade, and so too have gamers."
U can talk about piracy and stuff but this still dosent surprise me especially with there being only handful of decent movies this year but 2009 had lots of fantastic games.
Don't you f**king hate the way 'teenage boys' seem to just be pigeonholed as a joke in society?
It's like they've stepped down from just making ridiculous statements to games, now, it's just aimed at teenage boys. I suppose it's an improvment. Sort of.
Teenage boy's dont make me laugh all they want round here is drink,drugs and sex.However I bought about 10 to 15 games this year as Sony have moved up a notch and relesed some real quality games.Movies from this year i have bought 1 all the other movies i bought were from before 2009 the movie industry is just pumping out remakes and cashcows there's not much real originality left in it.Uncharted 2 may be the next step for movies if u know what i mean.
The movie industry deserves to suffer. For too many years the industry has proved desperate to get hold of our money. The worst example being the routine changing of home movie formats. Sure, each generation offers a slightly better picture and sound but the acting and writing don't get any better.
Fortunately a friend of mine treats all his mates to a movie night on Fridays - with new films he downloads!
I'm heavily against piracy of games. For me games offer unbelievable value for money, assuming you're fortunate enough to choose wisely and enjoy the game. But the movie industry can get stuffed now. I will still buy the odd DVD. Of films I love – but they're few and far between. I'm really waiting for blu-ray to die off now.
The problem with the movie industry is that films are often badly written, with weak stories, poor scripts, overpaid lazy actors, made by by-the-numbers directors. I know movies are generally a dumb, cheap, crap form of entertainment, but it's beyond a joke now. I'm sick of seeing the same couple of dozen big movie stars in 90% of what America produces. How can any industry complain of piracy or say it's finances are down when it's willing to pay tens of millions of dollars to people for just a few months work.
If the industry wants higher profit margins, stop wasting money on the likes of Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Adam Sandler, Harrison Ford, Eddie Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Cage, Tom Hanks, Will's Smith and Ferrell, etc and utilise some of the thousands of no-doubt better actors that unemployed! (I know the argument for why this lot are employed and it's why movies are suffering now... the business side of the industry has almost completely engulfed the artist side).
Some foreign films can often be very enjoyable but the Hollywood cartels manage to ensure it's far easier to hear about and see their crap.
So thanks to my friend I'm no longer ripped off paying to watch s**te American films. Ironically he works for the government. There's a particular 'branch' that appears to be the worst culprits of piracy. Even watching films for free we usually all end up discussing what a waste of time the film was! Spend your money on the games industry and let the movie industry suffer until it starts raising it's game and tries to produce higher quality entertainment.
In terms of the article mentioning teenage boys staying up late playing games... me and all the friends on my friends list (30+), are all over 23. In fact, most people im at work with now are over 25 and play games regulary etc. We are the demographic from which gaming started, so you'll probably find a large proportion of gamers are over 20 to be honest with you. (or playing the wii, over 40. lol)
in terms of your well structured rant jensonjet, films really have become a joke. I think the last amazing film i saw was no country for old men. I havent seen avatar yet, so that could be ok, but we'll see.
I am a firm believer in blu ray, and the films really are amazing compared to dvd on my tv. But I also agree with the "dying off" factor that seems to be creeping in. it is a bit worrying, hopefully that wont happen though with ps3 sales on a major increase.
games this year... have been 100% better then last year. most of the sequals have put the originals to shame, which never normally happens. Uncharted 2 stands out the most. Ive played and completed single player about 5 times its that fun/great. As much as people "poo" MW2, Im still playing it non stop, and so is pretty much everyone on my friends list. so they must have done something right! lol
this has started intoa long random rant too, so ill stop, thanks for listening, lol
I couldn't agree with the above posters more. The movie industry is a stagnant cesspit of unoriginality that is slowly alienating its audience. How many times must we see the same old narratives rehashed with interchangable Hollywood faces. To be honest I have all but given up on new cinema and tend to hunt out classics online.
Then when we look at the innovations in gaming over the last decade it's clear to see why it's audience has boomed. Now even your Granny Baxter can get involved with her Wii.
I'm in the fortunate position of maturing at a similar rate to the gaming industry, we both grew hair on our balls at about the same time if you will. So yes I was your stereotype spotty teenager, up all night playing my SNES/PS1 in between heavy wanking sessions. However like many I am still playing games in my mid 20's with the disposable income to afford it.
Gaming is finally getting the recognition it deserves as both an intellectual pursuit and form of raw adrenaline fuelled entertainment.
Are they still spouting that rubbish about games only being for teenage boys?!
I was at my gf's house last night playing mario kart wii with her family, the only teenager there was her wee sister. So that was 2 over 50's, 4 mid 20's, 1 teen & a toddler - only thing missing was Ant & Dec!
Question - Has anyone seen a teenage boy in a wii ad?
Are they still spouting that rubbish about games only being for teenage boys?!
I was at my gf's house last night playing mario kart wii with her family, the only teenager there was her wee sister. So that was 2 over 50's, 4 mid 20's, 1 teen & a toddler - only thing missing was Ant & Dec!
Question - Has anyone seen a teenage boy in a wii ad?
The Wii isnt a gaming console. Its a fad for women.
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