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Gaming expected to be UK's biggest form of entertainment this year

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A Verdict Research report has predicted that videogaming will be the largest form of entertainment in the UK this year, with the market expected to grow to be worth £4.64 billion in 2008.

That's a £1.7 billion increase on 2007 sales.

By comparison, the music and video market is expected to come in at £4.46 billion this year.

"The music and video market is not just suffering from a slowing of growth but a massive transfer of spend to online," said the report's author Malcolm Pinkerton.

"So in actual fact, the sales via high street shops are being hit a lot harder than the overall growth figures would suggest."

The reasons for the shift are well worn.

"Games represent a relatively cheap, but also exciting and innovative pastime," said Matthew Piner, author of the Video Games and Consoles Retailing report.

"As more people save money by staying in, a video game, although it may cost three of four times as much as a DVD or CD, offers much more longevity and hence better value for money."

More on Reuters.

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Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

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