Videogames to "eclipse" entertainment media - Activision

Activision-Blizzard executive Mike Griffith has spoken about the ascendancy of the videogames industry as the premier source for entertainment media during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Griffith cited US market statistics, which show that between 2003 and 2007 sales of cinema tickets fell by 6 per cent, hours spent watching TV dropped by 6 per cent, music sales slid 12 per cent and DVD sales remained flat.

Standing out in stark contrast was the 40 per cent growth figure for the games industry, boasted by Griffith during his talk, according to the BBC.

"Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors," Griffith explained. "Video games are poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead."

"Games are no longer pre-set trips through linear mazes," he said. "They are becoming a legitimate story-telling medium that rivals feature films."

"The moviegoer is passive whereas the gamer is active and part of the game itself."

Griffith went on to comment on the videogame industry's relationship with the music business, providing contrast to falling CD sales by accentuating the success of the Guitar Hero franchise.

During the keynote, he revealed that Guitar Hero World Tour owners had created and shared over 141,000 tracks of their own music using the title's built-in tools.

"The one thing that is for sure is entertainment is changed forever with gaming."