How Come Video Games Are Much More Profitable Than Hollywood Movies? - By: Moises Boone

Video games contain a distinctive appeal that attracts legions of followings. Proving its dominant drawing power, global gaming purchases reached a staggering 500 million in 2010. The industry continues to serve as one of most lucrative markets where gamers are collectively spending 3 billion hours each week playing the said platform.

Investigative findings through the Association of Psychological Science reveal that gaming typically is considered as the optimal platform for players to take on the characteristics of their "ideal self." Games offer gamers the possibility to play an ideal role or virtually adopt a completely new identity, introducing feelings of enjoyment of the massively social and interactive games experience and satisfaction at each victory.

A Formidable Industry

Within 2008, the video game industry - covering all games in all video formats - made much more money than all Blu-ray and DVD movie releases combined in terms of product sales. Video game sales were at $32 billion, up by 20% from 2007. The show biz industry sales dropped 6 percent, fixed at only $29 billion.

A case in point is Grand Theft Auto IV, which has become a jaw-dropping success when it broke two entertainment industry records, hauling the biggest sales on a single-day and seven-day basis since the release on 04/29/2008. GTA IV sold 3.6 million copies or $310 million in equivalent sales within the first 24 hours of its availability. To the first week, the sales figures subsequently skyrocketed to over six million units or an equivalent of $500 million.

The GTA IV first-week earnings are comparable to giant movie releases. In the report by Reuters, the British-produced game has outperformed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from Warner Bros., which earned $394 million during its opening week in 2009. GTA IV also beat blockbuster Spider-Man 3 from Sony and Buena Vista's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which has earned $382 million and $344 million, respectively, right after they opened in cinemas in the year 2007.

On December 12, 2011, Modern Warfare 3 officially de-throned the most recognized movie of all time - Avatar, as the fastest entertainment media to achieve the $1 billion mark. The former got its first billion dollar earnings 16 days after it was eventually released while the other for 17 days.

Exemplifying prestigious international business marketing techniques, games have also amassed income from its European market, decisively pulling the limelight faraway from the movie industry. Thought to be "the most valuable purchased entertainment market," video game sales are four times more than cinema earnings, and also trumping music and DVD sales combined.

Shedding light on the phenomenal video game following, United Kingdom paper The Guardian notes how the gaming pushes itself to the mainstream consciousness by stimulating the consumer's intelligence, appealing to their imagination and improving constancy in player involvement - something that Hollywood may not be very successful at.

A Glimpse of the future

Industry research firm Gartner, Inc. has estimated that in 2011, global spending on the gaming ecosystem can reach over $74 billion, showing an increase of 10.4% from $67 billion in 2010. Key transitions to gaming technological know-how, business and software strategies are generally predicted to last beyond 2015, and by then, spending will jump to a whopping $112 billion.

The gaming ecosystem covers gaming console manufacturers Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft; software for platforms or gameplay consoles like PlayStation 2 and 3, Wii and Xbox 360 System; portable consoles Nintendo DS and DSi, Game Boy Advance and Sony PSP; PC or notebook software; mobile phone gaming, together with online and social games.

Discussing the gaming business and software strategies in general, internet marketing firm Zebra Partners representative Perrin Kaplan tells Gaming Business Review that gamers will tend to respond to new products, in spite of how they are becoming packaged - console, computer, handheld or Internet. With new games mushrooming on various forms of media, the challenge for vendors in the video game industry is to adapt to what insatiable gamers require: to become continuously surprised and interested by a new type of fun and new technology that come with video gaming.

About the Author

Compasssmith Robin Nevwirth likes aerobics, dancing. Additionally he loves visiting different places specially to Swaziland. - Mass Effect 3

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Moises-Boone/225219

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