England's The Daily Telegraph reports the UK spent more on video games during a one year period than movies, which apparently includes both theater ticket purchases and movies on disc. According to information from GFK Chart-Track, £1.73 billion was spent on games, while the UK Film Council notes £1.2 billion went to movie entertainment. The figures cover the twelve months ending September 2009.
What's confusing is that a couple years ago, in a report about the Britain's game sales surpassing music at retail, the UK's Entertainment Retailers' Association claimed movies had been stuck at £2.1 billion in sales for the past few years. When compared to the UK Film Council's reported figures, this would imply there was a significant £1 billion drop. At this point, we're not exactly sure how the movie numbers were calculated or if the Telegraph's data doesn't count some film industry subset, like the porn industry -- which would likely explain how a billion pounds just goes missing.
[Via Aeropause]
Reader Comments (30)
Posted: Dec 28th 2009 9:27PM kris120890 said
I'm not surprised. I'd rather spend £40 for my entertainment from a console than £10 for a DVD. With games like MW2 Some PS3 and Xbox 360 games and the rise of family gaming with nintendoware its good news. Look at next year fantastic games are coming. Specifically Mass Effect 2
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Posted: Dec 29th 2009 5:42AM Katana Master said
Totally agree, we should have seen this coming.
Plus, think of the pirates.
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Plus, think of the pirates.
Posted: Dec 28th 2009 9:32PM Premature ejaculation man said
Basing it off of monetary value rather than sales numbers is silly since games cost more...Not as much as other places since games over there seem to be massively competitive priced and drop in 2 days.
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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:11PM CynicalStrike said
Yep, the UK games market has a very high price elasticity.
Holy shit, I actually remember some macroeconomics!
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Holy shit, I actually remember some macroeconomics!
Posted: Dec 29th 2009 9:27AM (Unverified) said
@ CynicalStrike
games do not really have a high price elasticity of demand because there is no substitute, if ps3 and xbox games increased in price at the same rate, say by £20. although there would be a decrease in the amount of sales, the decrease would not be as rapid as you would believe because what else are they going to buy, a new £700 gaming PC or a Wii? if they want to play mw2 they would pay that extra £20. games are not inelastic but they arnt very elastic
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games do not really have a high price elasticity of demand because there is no substitute, if ps3 and xbox games increased in price at the same rate, say by £20. although there would be a decrease in the amount of sales, the decrease would not be as rapid as you would believe because what else are they going to buy, a new £700 gaming PC or a Wii? if they want to play mw2 they would pay that extra £20. games are not inelastic but they arnt very elastic
Posted: Dec 29th 2009 9:44AM CynicalStrike said
@joe
That's probably right, I only did economics for one semester :p
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That's probably right, I only did economics for one semester :p
Posted: Dec 28th 2009 9:37PM (Unverified) said
Orange Box is $15. No matter what year it is, the Orange Box is the best value in gaming history.
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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 9:44PM (Unverified) said
The Orange Box is the second best deal in gaming history. There were two others that equally topped it. The Legend Of Zelda Collectors Edition, and Super Mario All Stars.
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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 9:58PM KentuckyFrydCow28 said
I Seriously am gonna have to call this one a tie.
If the Zelda collection had A Link to the Past, consider the tie broken.
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If the Zelda collection had A Link to the Past, consider the tie broken.
Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:07PM CynicalStrike said
The Orange Box was an amazing deal even at full price.
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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:11PM (Unverified) said
Like always, you are wrong.
Half-Life2 and episodes: One of the best single-player experiences
Portal: one of the best puzzle experiences.
TF2: The best multiplayer shooter
Three vastly different games in one box was the best deal at $60, and it is still the best deal now at $15.
I love Zelda, but that was merely a compilation, and the Orange Box when it came out was Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episode 1, and 3 new games as well.
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Half-Life2 and episodes: One of the best single-player experiences
Portal: one of the best puzzle experiences.
TF2: The best multiplayer shooter
Three vastly different games in one box was the best deal at $60, and it is still the best deal now at $15.
I love Zelda, but that was merely a compilation, and the Orange Box when it came out was Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episode 1, and 3 new games as well.
Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:16PM (Unverified) said
Like always, Demoman sinks to ad hominem attacks.
What about the Valve Complete Pack on Steam? I'm pretty sure that blows The Orange Box out of the fucking water.
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What about the Valve Complete Pack on Steam? I'm pretty sure that blows The Orange Box out of the fucking water.
Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:55PM I AM IRONHIDE said
There was a Nintendo's Collector Edition for $500 dollars not too long ago. It had every Metroid, Super Mario, and LoZ game on a nintendo console. It was kick ass. It also came with a SNES.
(The bundle itself wasn't endorsed by nintendo)
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(The bundle itself wasn't endorsed by nintendo)
Posted: Dec 29th 2009 12:30AM (Unverified) said
I'm going to go with the Orange Box for best deal.
As said before, HL2 and HL2:ep1 bundled with TF2, Portal and HL2:ep2.
It's going to take a hell of a compilation to top that.
Yeah, the compilation which contains those games and more tops it, but wasn't the point of contention whether the Orange Box was better than a pair of Nintendo compilations?
Surely bringing in the Valve complete pack does nothing to Strengthen the Nintendo argument.
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As said before, HL2 and HL2:ep1 bundled with TF2, Portal and HL2:ep2.
It's going to take a hell of a compilation to top that.
Yeah, the compilation which contains those games and more tops it, but wasn't the point of contention whether the Orange Box was better than a pair of Nintendo compilations?
Surely bringing in the Valve complete pack does nothing to Strengthen the Nintendo argument.
Posted: Dec 29th 2009 5:45AM Katana Master said
"Orange Box is $15. No matter what year it is, the Orange Box is the best value in gaming history."
That applies to PC gamers.
Plus there are people who don't like the games too. Mainly me, (I liked TF2 though, that's about it)
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That applies to PC gamers.
Plus there are people who don't like the games too. Mainly me, (I liked TF2 though, that's about it)
Posted: Dec 29th 2009 5:48AM Katana Master said
But moneys worth, yes those 5 games are a pretty damn good deal.
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Posted: Dec 29th 2009 3:00PM (Unverified) said
You found the 360 version of the Orange Box for $20, and you could probably get it for even less. So yes, factually I'm right, the Orange Box is the best deal in gaming(overall, not just PC).
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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:00PM Dr Perry Ulysses Cox said
Whoa, the Daily Telegraph? You're living in the past, England!
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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:32PM Dance Mofo said
Steam is kicking butt this holiday with the deals going on. Prey sold out...PREY of all games. I never thought a digital download would ever sell out. But man, my account is seriously getting drained of all the games I am buying. But back on topic, I am not surprised that videogames are knocking out movies. Nothing really good has come out worth watching. Tired of all these high class high paid actors making trash movies like Old Dogs and the one movie with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker,,,something Morgans. Garbage.
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