UK Games Market To Beat Music And Video

UK video game market revenue is set to exceed that of both the music and video industries combined by the end of 2008, according to a new report from Verdict Research. As reported by the BBC, spending on video games will increase by 42 percent to a total of £4.64 billion in 2008, compared to £4.46 billion for music and video combined. However,dDirect comparisons between the two industries are difficult, given the often-wide cost disparity for the average video game and music album or DVD. Traditionally regarded as the third-largest market for video games in the world after the U.S. and Japan, the UK has seen revenues double for games over the last five years, while music sales have stagnated. The report indicates that digital downloads still only account for 4 percent of music and video sales in the UK -- online sales of CDs and DVDs are growing rapidly at the cost of traditional brick and mortar retailers. However, the Verdict Research report includes hardware sales within its data, with alternative Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) data showing sales of game software at £1.7 billion for 2007, compared to £1.4 billion for music sales and £2.2 billion for video. The ERA predicts that game sales in the UK will overtake video by the end of 2008, but will not surpass music and video combined.