Video game sales in the US were $18 billion dollars in 2007, and even amidst a financial crisis, rose to nearly $21 billion in 2008(Source: Entertainment Software Association). On top of that, the movie industry made more than $32 billion in 2008. Now during this economic downturn we are facing in the US, it's clear that we are turning to video games and movies to escape from the madness.

But just throwing out numbers isn't the purpose of this writing. It's these numbers...


Out of that 32 billion dollars of movie revenue, over $22 billion of that is DVD sales and rentals(Source: Digital Entertainment Group). Now add that up with the $21 billion in video game console and software sales and you have $43 billion dollars spent by us consumers on home entertainment. My point? We aren't leaving our homes!

Think about it. Out of $53 billion dollars spent on video game and movie entertainment, $43 billion was spent on staying at home. Only $10 billion was spent at the box office, and when you compare that to the $22 billion spent on DVDs, the numbers definitely tell a tale.

It's crazy. We are in a "recession", but the entire country spent over $50 billion dollars on movies and games. $50 billion. I guess not having to buy gas helps if we are indoors more. I'm sure many of us have to work longer hours throughout the week, so going out to the theater isn't an option if you are exhausted.

Whatever the reason, we are staying home more these days and I don't blame us. With On-Demand, Netflix, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PS3 pretty much in everyone's home, there really isn't a need to leave our homes. We are barely even going to Blockbuster anymore! Why drive out our precious gas when Netflix sends it to our house free? Better yet, if you have an Xbox 360, you can stream movies directly from Netflix onto your TV. On Demand is great too, with new DVD releases also being released On Demand the exact same time.

Then you have video games. I don't care how old you are, video games are for everyone. Especially now with alot of video games doing almost better jobs in production value than some movies, I expect us to play even more video games in the future. I personally play video games more than watch movies simply because you are more in control of the experience. It's like being in the movie rather than just watching it. You can watch zombies attack a group of actors, or you could be one of the actors and actually shoot the zombies. Think I'll choose the latter!

The bottom line: As human beings, we love to be entertained. I don't think any of us enjoy boredom. However, with this economic downturn in the country, we are finding ways to entertain ourselves without having to drive around town. With DVD and video game sales numbers showing a huge profit, it proves that we would rather watch a good movie at home then go to a movie theater. It also proves that we are looking for ways to escape the reality of the day by being absorbed by a game like Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto IV.

Have you been more intraverted these days? Or have you been going out more than staying in? Comment below!