Video games bigger than film

More money was spent on video games than on films – including both trips to the cinema and films on DVD – figures compiled for The Daily Telegraph indicate.

This is the clearest evidence yet that the video games market has come of age and transformed itself from a niche form of entertainment for teenage boys into a mainstream form of entertainment for millions of British families.

In the twelve months to the end of September 2009, £1.73 billion was spent on video games, according to the data company GFK Chart-Track.

This beats the amount of money spent on films, even though British cinema has just enjoyed its best year in nearly three decades.

According to the UK Film Council exactly £1 billion was spent at the British box office during the same period, with a further £198 million spent on film titles released on DVD and Blu-ray.

This means that £500 million more was spent on video games than on films over the last 12 months.

Only television – including DVDs of television shows, along with the cost of the license and satellite subscriptions – and music are bigger forms of entertainment.

Tom Watson, the former Cabinet Office minister and renowned gamer, said the statistics were proof that the video games industry needed to be taken seriously.

"Like anything digital, Parliament has a very narrow view of video games. Too many politicians think video games are played by teenage boys staying up all night shooting things in their bedroom.

"And yes there are plenty of those, but there also a huge range of people of many different ages who love playing games. The industry has matured over the last decade, and so too have gamers."

He argued that the debate surrounding November's release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the fastest selling game in history, typified the blinkered attitude many people had about video games.

Despite receiving very positive reviews for the quality of its storylines and graphics, and selling more than 1.2 million units in just 24 hours, it was attacked for encouraging violent behaviour.

"Yes, let's have a debate about unpleasant content in video games, but don't beat up on the whole industry," said Mr Watson.

Industry figures show there the number of games consoles being used in Britain has shot up from 13.5 million in 2008 ago to well over 25 million earlier this year, with enough consoles for nine out of every ten households in the country to have one.

Despite the popularity for Nintendo Wiis slowing down, the Japanese company should take the credit for winning over an army of new consumers to gaming, according to Guy Cocker at the industry website Gamespot.

"The growth in Wii sales has stalled, but Nintendo has done phenomenally well and shown that gaming could be enjoyed by young children, women and older consumers," he said.

Wiis, the must-have Christmas present of 2007 and 2008, became a hit with families that wanted to go bowling, play tennis and slalom ski from the comfort of their sitting rooms.

Supermarket price cutting has also helped video games become more mainstream, Mr Cocker added. Though Modern Warfare 2 had a recommended retail price of £55, most supermarkets cut the price to £33, with Morrisons offering it for £26, meaning many consumers have bought video games along with their weekly food shop.