A basic impression of gaming's growing market share

At times being a gamer can still be a taboo subject: saying that you're a gaming enthusiast may cause others to raise their eyebrows. Though video games are arguably still trying to earn the same cultural respect as films and music, when it comes to earning cold, hard cash, games are on top.

According to the ERA (Entertainment Retailers Association) Yearbook 2012, video games sales in the UK reached £1.92bn in 2011: this includes retail, digital downloads and smartphone/tablet gaming 'apps'. By comparison, video (Blu-ray, DVD) accounted for £1.8bn, with music reaching £1.06bn: early 2012 figures do show a video revival so far this year, with games currently lagging behind. Despite a slow start this year, and well-known issues on the UK retail scene with GAME, it's still a historic moment for the gaming industry.

We already knew that gaming was becoming more popular, but it seems the industry has room to grow yet.

[source mcvuk.com]