We might watch our favourite superhero at the movies or the next Shah Rukh Khan blockbuster with awful acting make millions at the box office, however, India and the rest of the world have been ignoring one of the most important sources of entertainment: Video Games! 

A majority of video games are purchased and played by adults. This is prevalent in the US, the UK and even in India. Some of the biggest franchises from the gaming world make astronomical amounts of money which Hollywood films can only dream of achieving. Some of these games are made by multi-billion dollar MNCs that employ thousands of people from every corner of the globe. We can no longer say that gaming is a kid’s hobby anymore. 

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Games like the ‘Last of Us’ or ‘Bioshock’ have delivered compelling, emotional and thought provoking narratives which I haven’t come across in a movie in a very long time. These are games that made millions cry, and I happen to be one of them. It’s time that we start considering video games more than child’s play and truly recognise its real power in entertainment. 

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Much like literature, film and TV; Gaming is also a byproduct of commercialised art of our culture. Just like movies, games can be great or absolutely terrible, they can give us memories that last a lifetime or can be forgettable like the “Divergent” series. These games can be casual, interactive and narrative driven like the “Uncharted” Series or be frightening like “Silent Hill”. Some games can be played for 40 hours while you can also quickly jump to play a game for five minutes on your smartphone. It really is a life-changing and wondrous virtual world.

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Let me throw a statistic in your face that might sway your opinion towards mine. According to a Global Games Market Report, in 2016 alone, the worldwide video game industry managed to generate a revenue of $99.6 billion. If you compare it to movies, Hollywood managed to rake in only $36 billion in 2016, which is quite trivial when compared to the insane amount of cash games raked in. Bollywood doesn’t even come close, which brings me to my next point…

Video Games Make More Money Than Movies.

Whenever the next ‘Grand Theft Auto’ game is set to release, the world will come to a standstill. Released on 17th November 2013, the fifth installment of the game amassed sales numbers that were unbelievably bonkers and it made me realise one thing, movies can never be a phenomenon like video games. 

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‘GTA V’ managed to sell 11.21 million units within the first 24 hours of its release and managed to make $815.7 million in the first day! Wrap your head around those numbers. I can’t remember the last time a movie or TV show made that much money in one day. Well, that’s because it has never happened. ‘GTA V’ later managed to earn $1 billion in sales after three days and became the fastest entertainment property (this includes properties across all spheres of entertainment) to achieve that number. Even ‘Star Wars’ could not do that with ‘Episode 7: The Force Awakens’.  Hell, it even broke 7 Guinness World Records in the process, which are as follows: 

1. Best-selling action-adventure video game in 24 hours

2. Best-selling video game in 24 hours

3. Fastest entertainment property to gross $1 billion

4. Fastest videogame to gross $1 billion

5. Highest grossing video game in 24 hours

6. Highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours

7. Most viewed trailer for an action-adventure video game

‘GTA V’ has easily earned at least $3 billion dollars in sales as of 2017 and when compared to Avatar’s (highest grossing movie of all time) $2.7 billion collection revenue, we can say that games are taking over fast! Let’s do another comparison: GTA V cost $265 million to make as compared to Avatar (It took a year, might I add), which cost $220 million to make. This solidifies the fact that blockbuster games cost way more than blockbuster movies to make and can yield higher profits if done right. It’s high time we start treating them in the same regard. Do I need to say more?

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Video games also employ thousands of people from the most unexpected industry; the symphonic orchestra. High budget games often employ symphonic orchestras to produce music that perfectly complements certain games and adds that extra value you would expect from a big budget product. One can argue that movies also make use of symphonic orchestras, but there are far more games out there that contribute more to the music industry when compared to movies. In fact, the video game industry is actually saving the art. 

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If you are wondering whether this was a one-off event, well video games have been beating movies in terms of sales and revenue from way back in the day. Fallout 4 made $750 million on its launch date as compared to the ‘James Bond: Spectre’s’ total collection and ‘Hunger Games: Mocking Jay 2‘s’ total collection. You might think that is all irrelevant, however, these movies were released on the same weekend as ‘Fallout 4’ and it just shows that gaming is a phenomenon that has already overtaken movies when it comes to sales figures and numbers. There are countless instances like these and you can Google them to find out for yourself. 

Games Have Better Plots Than Many Movies and TV Shows

If you think movies like ‘The Avengers’ or ‘The Dark Knight’ series had great plotlines then you have a plethora of games out there which have far more superior narrative driven story arcs that might just break your heart or leave you in a euphoric state. 

Games like ‘The Walking Dead: A Telltale Series’ and ‘The Last Of Us’ have left many gamers like me in a state of sorrow because I could not come to terms with what was happening or what choices I had to make. For example, would you have the courage to shoot your own kid because you have no other choice? Or would you be able to wipe out an entire species for your own survival? 

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These are only some of the difficult moral choices you are faced with which makes gaming a surreal experience. Take a look at the video below to see how people react when they are faced with difficult choices in games:

Caution: These videos contains spoilers if you haven’t already played ‘The Last Of Us’ Or Season 1 of ‘The Walking Dead: A Telltale Series’. 

I still get the chills after watching these videos and I bet Robert Downey Jr. cannot move me half as much as these virtual characters. These games made some of the most badass gamers cry like babies because the narrative was simply that compelling. 

It wouldn’t be fair to say that all games have better narratives than movies, but it is safe to say that games are no longer childish or immature. There’s always been a complaint that games objectified women (which was not based on any facts and hard evidence) however, after watching Bollywood ‘item numbers’ it’s safe to say that games are nowhere close to what our moviemakers are currently doing. 

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Violence in games has been a hot topic for debate for decades but violence also exists in every Bond movie or any sci-fi/action movie. We as viewers love to see violence on screen because it’s a form of entertainment and release and games are no different. 

Actors and their Star Power

Your next argument will be that games do not have superstars like Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan or Brad Pitt to portray characters and give them that success that movies need because of their “starpower”. First of all, games don’t need superstars to be a great success as ‘GTA V’ and ‘Fallout 4’ have proven in the past. Games can very well thrive without actors and celebrities and don’t have to rely on their “starpower” to make money. Since you are already wondering, many celebrities have made appearances in blockbuster games in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Actors like Kevin Spacey, Emma Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Keifer Sutherland have all lent their voices to some of the most iconic characters from the gaming world. Apart from lending voices, many have made appearances too:

Kevin Spacey

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Martin Sheen

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Mark Hamill as Joker

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Charles Dance 

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Norman Reedus 

Mads Mikkelsen

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And the list goes on…

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Is The Future

If you thought that Virtual Reality (VR) as a concept is new and was developed by companies like Samsung, Google and Facebook you couldn’t be more wrong. VR has been in the works since the 1980s and the concept is a byproduct of video games since its very inception. Atari was the first company to recognise its true potential and the technology has finally reaped the benefits of early research and development. VR has become a big deal in the past few years when Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR brought some credibility to VR gaming. If it weren’t for these companies, neither Google nor HTC would be investing heavily in Virtual Reality today. Virtual Reality in its true essence is not a gimmick anymore. When coupled with a PC or a console like the PlayStation 4, the end result is somewhat like this:

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Virtual Reality can be used as another source of entertainment even though it’s in its nascent stages and will continue to look even better. Virtual Reality coupled with Augmented Reality will make content (movies or games) more interactive than ever. This, in turn, will enable a user to concoct their own plot or have a part to play in the overall narrative. ‘Pokémon Go’ is the perfect example of how a game made people get off their couches and interact with the real world. This could only be possible with the augmented reality technology Nintendo opted to include in their mobile game. 

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I could play the game while out on the street catching my favourite Pokémon characters, which could only be portrayed in the form of a TV show until now. 

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Even Apple is investing heavily in augmented reality and others will follow suit, solidifying the belief that the future of entertainment and media consumption depends heavily on virtual and augmented reality.

Imagine watching a murder mystery movie in your VR headset with augmented reality features. Instead of watching a protagonist solve a crime, it would be YOU who would be solving the mystery. Or if you are a fan of Marvel movies, imagine being the Hulk in the next Avengers movie and you get to smash anything that comes your way. There are countless scenarios you can imagine yourself in and this is just the beginning. The future looks bright, doesn’t it? Well, let me break it to you. It’s already happening. You can already play as the protagonist in ‘Resident Evil 7’ and be a part of a horror story or be captain Kirk in the new upcoming ‘Star Trek’ VR game and command your very own “Enterprise”. That, according to me, is the future of entertainment where I do not have to deal with bad actors and see my imagination come to life. Something I can actually interact with and be a part of.  

Conclusion

Games are becoming more popular as each day passes and so are the number of gamers that support this thriving ecosystem. Games have become more thought provoking; they deal with real life issues like same-*** relationships and even have women as the main protagonist. In fact games have been portraying women with power as early as late 90s with the first ‘Tomb Raider’ game being a strong example. Something Hollywood and Bollywood still shies away from. Although women have been underrepresented as characters in the past but that is no longer the case. Games like ‘Horizon: Zero Dawn’ prove that there is no room for the negative stereotype anymore. There is no “damsel in distress” to save because the damsel herself is an ass-kicker.

I can’t say whether games will be at the pinnacle of entertainment anytime soon however I do believe it will be at the forefront of entertainment within the next 10-15 years. If you told a man from the 1950s that you could fly your own car one day he would call you batshit crazy. However, even that is becoming a reality