Computer games set to outsell music
Computer game sales are about to outstrip the combined sales of music on CD, record and tape.
The latest in a welter of new consoles and games to hit the market, the Nintendo GameCube, will go on sale at midnight for £129, making it the cheapest console yet.
Its arrival, hot on the heels of the Microsoft Xbox, is expected to force prices down across the industry. These two new competitors to Sony Playstation 2 are set to push sales of consoles up by 25 per cent this year.
By 2005, leisure software is expected to outsell music software by £100,000 and then £600,000 the year after. Roger Bennett, director-general of the European Leisure Software Publishers Association, said: "We are seeing a big change in consumer perceptions of playing computer games. About 56 per cent of players are in the 25-44 age bracket."
The video games market is worth more than £1.6 billion in Britain and more than 30 per cent of households now own a console, with the amount they spend on the equipment already outstripping video rental sales and trips to the cinema.
More than 50,000 Game-Cubes have been pre-ordered and stores across London will open at midnight for those eager to buy it.
