While its good to see that books still hold their own (in revenue generating terms) with films & music (they outperform both), the big news is that video games generated more revenue globally than books & music combined.
As someone who has never played a video game, but reads a lot of books, I'm not sure how I feel about this... but it tells us something about where the globe's creative & receptive energies seem to be spent.
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon Computer based visual novels (a genre I only recently discovered (when I bought a cheap 2nd hand PS4 last year!)) probably get counted as Video games, but perhaps should count more as a book, and there's a significant story element to a lot of video games.
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon@fkamiah17
I tried video games for a while but stopped when I couldn’t find any with story lines going beyond fan fiction for twelve-year-olds. Online gaming is toxic and I also have terrible reflexes so that part of it is an exercise in frustration anyway.
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon A good chunk of those are also visual novels, which have been popular for years. Especially in Japan.
And then there are text heavy games like Harebrained Scheme's Shadowrun games.
Also, a lot of people just don't buy music or books, unfortunately. And I'm not talking about lending from libraries. Looking at sales alone isn't a great indicator.
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon
Video games are interactive experiences; so I'd think that this is like comparing going to blackpool, with watching an episode of strictly come dancing.
Video games should eventually, replace large parts of the book market, as books cannot accurately represent the same without more constraints, less creativity (only as possibility for-now, but the potential is there).
Books should always exist though. They are wonderful and good for formative reasoning
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon As someone who is both a gamer and avid reader, this doesn't really surprise me. Some video games are like interactive novels. Baldurs Gate 3 has a really engaging story that you get to make choices in. There are some excellent authors writing video game stories. Obviously not all games are equal, but the ones that invest in great writing and voice acting are the ones I play the most.
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon Video games have much more revenue potential than any of the others, though - people can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a single game by buying in-game content. If this graph includes all that revenue, then I bet it's not giving an accurate impression of how many people play video games compared to reading books, and shouldn't be taken as a representation of how people's "creative & receptive energies" are spent.
Libraries. While awesome in many ways, the revenue per book is less than from sales to individuals.
Free games include ads, so revenue is generated even there.
Second hand books are a thing still, even with ebooks becoming more popular, and won't be counted. Game downloads have all but killed the second hand game market.
Indie gaming is huge, with several major platforms. Indie books are controlled by Amazon.
@ChrisMayLA6@bookstodon A good video game can actually include all the elements of books, films and music and be an immersive experience.
You can have great and original storylines, or great derivatives and/or sequels, great visuals and great soundtracks.
A band I used to follow I believe iirc made more from a song of theirs that got used in a popular video game, than the rest of their repertoire combined.
I think there is something to be said for interactive media. I think, in many ways, that is the appeal for me. Books improve vocabulary and develop imagination, but like film and music, they're very much a passive media.
The main problem with gaming is, with being big business they're already started homogenizing the content like they already do with music and film and this has led to dull and unimaginative content which, sadly, most people are fine with.
Yes I can see that... my own problem is with not good hand/eye coordination (I've always been useless at sports like tennis), so they've never really appealed
Understandable. I think there are games for everyone. But please don't be under the impression that all games require hand/eye coordination.
A friend of mine, who passed away, loved strategy games over all others. Those games can typically be played at their own pace.
A good example would be something like Crusader Kings 3 (or 2). These games are about the continuation of your family through the ages. They're historical and quite cerebral. Not reactions.
@ChrisMayLA6@Strider@bookstodon Particularly amongst independent developers but also increasingly mainstream there is a lot of focus on storytelling games which avoid reactions, timing and all that stuff but let you just explore the story, on adding 'I'm only here for the story' easy modes to story based games, and also on so called "cozy" games. Several of the big roblox games for small kids like Royale High simply don't have combat/fighting elements or I win so you lose games at all.
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