Report: Gaming is now bigger than films in the UK

The Daily Telegraph has recently published the results of its research, and what came out may be of some interest to any gamer. According to the results, gaming is now bigger than films in the UK. Talk about gaming FTW material.

The Daily Telegraph has recently published the results of its research, and what came out may be of some interest to any gamer. According to the results, gaming is now bigger than films in the UK. Talk about gaming FTW material.

In twelve months ending September 2009, an estimated £1.73 billion was spent on video games – both the hardware and the software. According to the UK Film Council, £1 billion was spent on movies plus £198 million more on Blu-ray and DVD movies. This means that gaming scored about £500 million more than movies in the said period.

Despite the undeniable size of the gaming industry in the UK, however, Parliament has yet to give tax breaks for gaming companies. “Like anything digital, Parliament has a very narrow view of video games. Too many politicians think video games are played by teenage boys staying up all night shooting things in their bedroom,” says Tom Watson, former Cabinet Office minister and known gamer. “And yes there are plenty of those,” he continued. “…but there also a huge range of people of many different ages who love playing games. The industry has matured over the last decade, and so too have gamers.”

[via The Daily Telegraph]