As video games grow, they are eating the media

As video games grow, they are eating the media. The games business has lessons for other industries and for governments. Consumers are forecast to spend $185bn on games this year, five times what they will spend at the cinema and 70% more than they will allocate to streamers like Netflix.

March 24, 2023 . 3:27 AM

1 min read

Video games are besting older media both as a business and as a way for people to entertain themselves, with consumers forecast to spend $185bn on games this year.
Game franchises have become the most in-demand intellectual property in other media, with Hollywood mining games for ideas.
Audiences are increasingly consuming old media through games, with musicians performing concerts in games like Fortnite and fitness videos being replaced by fitness games.
Smartphones put a powerful console in people’s pockets and unlocked hours of playtime on the commute and at the back of the lecture hall, and the next boost may come from smart TVs and streaming.
Gaming’s latest boom was propelled by free-to-play games, and a new phase of expansion is coming from game-library subscriptions, which already show signs of increasing consumption and accelerating discovery.