Gamers know that gaming is an enormous 21st
Century phenomenon - but now its growing economic importance is becoming
clearer to the wider populous, writes Box
category manager Matt Hill.
Research by Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has
revealed the video games sector now accounts for more than half of the UK's
entire entertainment market - more than video and music combined.
The industry is worth £3.86bn - more than double its value
in 2007. That's 51.3 per cent of the entertainment market, which has all-time
high revenues of £7.5bn.
And that does not take account of the phenomenal success of
mobile and free games such as Fornite, which by themselves have colossal
revenue streams.
And the gaming industry won't stop here. It will continue to
diversify and grow as technology improves and opens new doors of possibility.
The next big revolution will be AR and VR as those technologies
evolve and the games become more playable.
Three sensationally popular games are responsible for a
sizeable proportion of the gaming industry's riches: Fifa 19, Red Dead
Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Digital may now make up more than 80 per cent of gaming
revenues, but this terrific trio all sold over a million physical copies each
in 2018.
It is fantastic to see the UK is still a major player in the
global gaming scene. The £3.86bn revenues makes it the fifth largest video game
market in the world, behind only China, USA, Japan, South Korea and Germany.
We have more than 2,000 gaming companies based right here in
Blighty, including some of the biggest. That means tens of thousands of jobs.
Here's hoping that there is sustained investment in
educating our young people in programming and coding so that Britain continues
to be at the forefront of game development.