US Games Sales Overtake DVD Market in 2007

Sales of video games in the United States surpassed those of DVD movies during 2007, the Entertainment Merchants Association and GameSpot report.

Across 2007, the US gaming market brought in $18.85 billion according to NPD. Meanwhile, Nielsen reports that DVD sales racked up $16 billion, and the Digital Entertainment Group shows Hollywood's 2007 box office revenue at $9.6 billion.

However, as we noted last August, the claim that video games pull in more money than Hollywood is only true from a certain point of view. While games surpassed both DVD sales and box office revenue, combined, those figures appear to overshadow gaming.

Then again, those numbers don't paint a complete picture of the rivalry between Tinsel Town and games. NPD's 2007 figure for the gaming industry doesn't include titles sold via digital distribution or online game subscriptions, such as World of Warcraft.

Though movie rentals brought in around $7.4 billion during 2007, no figures are available regarding game rentals. Furthermore, neither used games sales nor used DVDs are included in the equation. And these are only figures for the US market.

Despite the gaps, hope still exists for a more complete view of the long-standing rivalry. NPD recently began tracking game subscriptions, finding an extra $1 billion in games revenue in just the first quarter of 2008.