Here are the numbers of the three industries reported on CBS:
- Music Industry $6.9 Billion
- Movie Industry $ 10.6 Billion
- Video Game Industry $23 Billion
In fact it is one industry that has booming employment in Texas as people take to video games to escape from thoughts of the slow economy. But frankly, the numbers are staggering and both Hollywood and the music industry must take notice. The video game seems to combine the fantasy of film with music and the interactivity and a sense of "being in control" that the player probably feels while playing video games.
While the question of the Supreme Court ruling against the State of California will be viewed with concern by many parents and teachers, I guess the Court is moving with the times. For as Vivek Wadhwa recently wrote, this is the age of social media and interactivity . Wadhwa suggests that our negative concerns about social media sort of mirror public concerns when books became available in the 1800's. In fact, reading too many novels by school kids was hugely frowned upon , while today the summer has town libraries, teachers,parents frantically pursuing kids to read – anything.
Clearly, video gaming fits very well with the new world. When it comes to violent video games perhaps there will be some kind of age "proof" that is put in place as the industry becomes more responsible and society find a balance.
The stunning video game numbers though point to huge opportunity including developing new games, distributing through the Internet and mobile apps. Standards of game quality are also set to rise as Gen Y grows up and demands higher quality in this domain. More on why video gaming is booming.