Music and video sales 'to be outstripped by games sales'

Sales of computer games are set to overtake combined sales of music and video products such as CDs and DVDs this year, according to a new report.

Verdict Research is predicting that 2008 sales figures will show that £4.64bn will be spent on gaming, compared to predicted sales figures of £4.46bn for music and video, reports BBC News.

According to the Entertainment Retailers' Association (ERA), computer game sales already outstripped sales for music last year, with UK consumers spending £1.7bn and £1.4bn on the two, respectively.

However, Steve Redmond of the ERA begged to differ with the predictions made by Verdict. "Our prediction is that games will overtake video by the end of this year," he said, "but not music and video combined."

Physical sales of CDs have declined over recent years. Although the amount of paid-for music downloads has increased, still only four percent of music sold in the UK is sold digitally.