If I'm not mistaken, that 12 billion takes absolutely everything into account. Hardware, software, accessories. The average game is sold for under 35 dollars, I believe. That 9.5 billion is just box office, nothing else. No concessions, no DVD-anything.

But when we're talking about how "mainstream" gaming is, who cares that selling 1 million PS3s creates way more revenue than selling 64 million tickets to "Pirates"? Obviously the word "mainstream" relates to customer-base, not revenue.

Its dangerous to look at the huge revenue gaming is creating as really great for the industry, when Sony for example is creating more revenue by selling more expensive consoles to less people, and burning billions of dollars.

wow, the wiis a fad. the ds is a fad. cell phones are a fad, computers are a fad, cars are a fad, video games are fads, everything technological is a fad. everytime someone doesnt accept or agree with something currently going on, they accuse it of being a fad. all they do is look to the future, instead of looking at now.  guess what, i have played many many many types of wii games that are sequeals and such from last gen games, (shooters, sports games, etc) and ill tell, not only do i think they are better (and most will agree) but they are different to the point of ever getting bored of them. they are alot different in control and such, but you instantly get used to it. its very enjoyable and not a workout, and a better way to game.

 everyone always say things are fads when they dont agree with them. why do we do this? ill tell you why, because, despite this being a technological world and growing fast, people fear change and technology. its true. people fear change, and thats what nintendo did with the wii and DS, they didnt make something brand new, they just fixed what isnt broken, and that scares people. 20 years of video gaming with basic controllers, and now a company tries to change that, and its scary. you dont want to leave behind your way of gaming. well guess what? nintendo isnt trying to abandon that way. The wii can game just like the ps3 and 360, it has the standard buttons. it also has a new way to game, without leaving behind our past. on the contrary, it can download many many classic games, yet all many see is a stick with motion sensitivity. many dont like this change, they fear it. so they crawl in their corner and rock back in forth in the fetal position waiting for it to be over, waiting for the future..that will never come. the world is ever changing, fear is natural. i was highly skeptical of the DS and wii, and thought nintendo was running themselves into the ground... i was wrong in both cases and now own and love a DS lite and love and own a Wii. fear is natural and very very few (if any) are immune to it, but if you are too proud (which many here are) to ultimatly give change a chance then admit to liking it and not let pride prevent you from realizing the true potential, you are doomed to be old people. you will be your grandparents, completly oblivous and outdated in the world of technology, having your 3 year old grandson teaching you how to do simple tasks with technology of some sort.  how can sony and microsoft make a new console that games the exact same way without any new ways and expect to make a new console that is... new. there is such a small window to improve graphics on, and improving online play is more of an opinion whats improved or not. where do they go from here? they do what nintendoes (not necesarily the motion thing, but something new,  or they literally just take themselves out of the gaming world.

Another measure of "being mainstream" is if Joe sixpack/Jane Whitepicketfence actually knows and idolizes certain (real) people in that particular industry(JK Rowling and Anne Rice for books, celebrities in movies and TV, various artists for music, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw for news etc.) . The closest person videogame industry's got is probably Miyamoto, even then it is somewhat limited. I suppose Bill Gates kinda counts but he's well known for other things.

...was that a joke? funny, very funny, either way.

No, for better or for worse, Dan Rather is a mainstream media icon.

9 billion in ticket sales. 

you need a tv to play games... why not add tv to video games total? ... and sound systems also.

 the number scare you ?

 How much in DVD sales?

Do the numbers scare you? 

Nevermind. Hus. Obviously you don't understand what I'm talking about. I'll follow my own advice and won't bother reading or posting to your threads/posts.

Only one thing i have to say about Hus:

 Dude, if u hate Wii... Why start flaming every threath because u don't like it...

Great post Nasfer !

Your views are quite interesting.

I should add my grain of salt.

Some have difficulties to deal with numbers.

If we can define the videogame industry as "maintream" for now, there is a lot of room to reach the penetration of books, cinema, DVD or CD.

That is simple as that. I don't get the problems some have to simply admit that.

Nintendo failed and missed the point of last expansion when the shift from 2D / 16 bit occured to 3D / 32 bits, 10 years ago.
At this time the size of the market grew from let's say 50M to 100M for the home console.

I think there is ONE POSSIBILITY is that Wii will be the key factor of a new expansion to 150M-200M.

The DS has proven that some games can be oriented towards other populations with games like BT, Nintendogs ans so on.
Those games simply cannot be so entertaining on PSP (as proven by the sales of the copycats on this console).

What is so disturbing for the "real" gamers in that ?

4 months is clearly far too early to be affirmative, but where is the problem to simply admit the possibility ?

To come back to what Wii brings :
- When you get used to the controller, i can assure those who did not try it that you feel very uncomfortable when you come back to a normal one
- Given the HD display penetration, i think the calculus made by Nintendo 2 years ago is the right one : Last analysis expect 50% penetration for 2011 !
- The quality of the image is not so ugly some would imagine on a HD display (but clearly, you would better not imagine having Geow on Wii ...)

To finish with, as a huge gamer for 15 years, in my eyes, PS3 and Xbox are far more "last-gen" than Wii.
I'm ready to have a good discussion if you want, but here are my main concerns:
- PS3 /Xbox360 are marketted / enginered the same way that consoles were for 10 years.
- The fans "defending" those are using the same arguments we had for ten years :
    + Power
    + Graphics
    + AI / physics
 The fact is : as a gamer, i have eaten enough of that for my whole life. The future of gaming is in no way there.