Avengers Endgame made $1 billion in 5 days, which is impressive until you consider that it took the video game Grand Theft Auto V 3 days to achieve the same thing. As credited by the Guinness Book of Records, ‘GTA V sold 11.21 million units in its first 24 hours, and generated revenue of $815.7 million (£511.8 million), going on to reach $1 billion (£624.45 million) in sales after just three days on September 20 2013.’
It went on to make over $6 billion and counting due to recurring user spending with dlc, online etc. This dwarfs the $4 billion achieved by best-selling films such as Star Wars, Gone with the Wind and even Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time at $2.8 billion.
Gaming is on the up and while it faces teething issues like any other medium before it such as video game violence, toxic online communities, positive LGBTQ+ and diversity representations to name but a few, it is maturing, developing and undergoing its own issues including archiving and the rights of gaming staff, much like cinema before it.
This got me to thinking: Will I be talking about the year of '97 which saw the release of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid, GoldenEye and Half Life 2 as much as film lovers talk about the year Rocky, Star Wars and Annie Hall fought it out at the Oscars?
From my arthritic hand will I still be playing the latest iteration of Mario? I don't know... Will my misty-shortsighted vision ever set eyes on the remake of FF7? I don't know. Will my bladder still hold when I hear that the biggest ever entertainment event at the time will still be GTA, probably up to part 69 by then? I don't know but as the biggest entertainment industry which accounts for over half of all entertainment sales in the UK, I don't see why not.
LINK- DIC: Series Of Your Childhood page
LINK- Mysterious Cities Of Gold Nostalgia
LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review
LINK- Inspector Gadget Retro Soundtrack Review