Games To Dominate Media

Activision chief tells CES that video games are set to eclipse all other media, and the figures seem to back him up.

In his CES keynote speech, Mike Griffith, the head of game studio Activision, made a bold statement:

"Video games are poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead."

Although some might disagree, he pointed out that "movies, recorded music and TV – these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors," and that social gaming and better technology would simply help confirm gaming’s position, according to the BBC.

However, the figures seem to bear him out. From 2003 – 2007 movie ticket sales fell by 6%, the number of hours of TV watched dropped by 6%, recorded music sales slumped 12% and purchases of DVDs remained flat. The big winner was the video game industry, which grew 40%. There was a trickle-down effect, too. Artists whose music featured on the Guitar Hero series had a rise in download sales of 15-843%.

Griffith also cited new game controllers as an indicator of the way gaming is changing.

"Those new controllers are encouraging new ways to become more socially active in gaming," he said. "They are bringing in a whole new group of consumers that have never before been involved in gaming."

He concluded: "The one thing that is for sure is entertainment is changed forever with gaming."