Influx

The fact UK weekend sales for the new GTA title, exceeded the record for UK movie box office, becomes yet another example of the mainstreaming of gaming culture. With the proliferation of consoles and the huge revenues being generated, it was only a matter of time before games out-did record box office.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=57089

The global impact for GTA is significant. It’s likely to become be the biggest video game in history, with sales topping those of most of the biggest grossing box office movies.

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/local/10066731.htm

Not to be outdone, Halo 2 launched on Monday, looks like it might also be a contender for the biggest grossing game in-history.

Halo 2 set to break $100 million

What’s next?

Games are fast becoming better experiences than movies. With the speed, graphics and on-line capabilities of the next generation of consoles, the game playing experience will be more immersive. Combine those factors with the proliferation of big screen TVs and people are going to have a compelling reason to stay away from the movies. Games will become more like cable TV; consoles will be linked online and new game experiences will be downloaded and played on-demand.

Gamers aren’t Geeks

As Nielsen’s media research tells us, video games have already emerged as the formidable challenger to both the TV networks and Hollywood.

http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_news.cfm?cb=045330A&newsID=245826&newsDate=04/08/2004