Games and video – the markets compared

The UK movie market remained static in 2010 with an annual value of 2.6bn, according to a new report by the BVA.

The comprehensive study excludes revenue from subscription-based physical and digital rentals, which are now said to be roughly on par.

A direct comparison with the games market is difficult. In raw numbers terms the 2010 UK games market was significantly larger, with a total value of 3.31bn. However, that figure completely omits digital sales which remain absent from UKIE’s numbers.

Note, too, that the BVA figures don’t include sales of movie hardware – that would mainly be DVD players, though arguably surround sound and projector movie systems also fall into the category.

The closest we can get for a like-for-like is to look at games software in isolation. The UK console software market in 2010 was worth 1.45bn. If PC games and the fragmented digital software market then who knows what the true value is worth, though it’s unlikely to match video’s 2.6bn valuation.

Looking a the video market in isolation, boxed retail DVD remains the daddy with a market share of 73 per cent. Blu-ray sales were up 55 per cent year-on-year with 13m unit sales (just under PS3’s 13.8m software unit sales in 2010). In total, Blu-ray now represents 8.1 per cent of the video market

Physical and digital rental services claim eight per cent of the market each, though when download-to-own sales are factored in that share rises to 11 per cent. The latter has doubled in value to 78m, with digital rentals hitting 205m.

Console and PC game unit sales hit 63m in 2010. By comparison, the movie market saw unit sales of 160m units.

The Q4 market alone was worth 844m, well up on Q3’s 393m.

20th Century Fox’s Avatar was the most successful title of the year followed by Disney’s Toy Story 3. Other hits included The Inbetweeners Series 3, Michael Jackson: This Is It, the 2010 Ryder Cup Official Film and Peppa Pig – Peppa’s Christmas..

Video entertainment is enjoyed by millions of people and our figures show that it remains hugely popular," BVA director general Lavinia Carey stated.

"People now have many more ways to access video and the growing incidence of digital purchases and viewing, although still new, shows that our industry is making progress in embracing technology and using it to respond to changing habits in the digital environment.

"We of course continue to faces challenges. Last year we had to contend with two periods of severe weather conditions that hampered people’s shopping and deliveries, a football world cup and continued online copyright theft, but – as an industry that is often the target of doom mongers – to maintain year-on-year sales value is quite an achievement in a tough retail market.

"This demonstrates the enduring enjoyment provided by the video industry and we anticipate the greater pleasure 3D Blu-ray will bring in 2011.”