Bye bye, Miss Hollywood Pie

Christmas Economics 69: The Halo game for XBox grossed $170 million on it's first DAY, a figure higher than any movie has ever grossed in a day in history.

While it is being writ in most smart financial sheets that this Christmas shopping season is going to be very light, I think that once again the MSM---always ready to create a Bush Recession---doesn't get it. These surveys typically cover the big stores selling conventional product that everyone has sold for years and years. But there's a new conventional product out there that is sold over the internet and in toy and specialty electronics stores: that product is called "video games."

There is huge new demand for a brand new product never available before, product that costs between $60 and $150 and they are dominating all sales. These sales won't be mentioned in the measured or reported total sales for retail sales at Macy's or Abercrombe and Fitch. Keep in mind that the Halo game for XBox grossed $170 million on it's first DAY, a figure higher than any movie has ever grossed in a day in history; and this $170 million won't be spent in stores on "normal" stuff. Piled on to other new games like "Guitar Hero III" ($100 million during first week) or Medal of Honor, all selling in the $60 to $150 price range and you have a primary market.

Additionally, we have the killer demographic. Since all these games are aimed dead on to the tender skulls of teen age boys---the core audience for movies-- you have a Christmas Sales revolution that could be as much as $5 billion, $5 billion that won't be spent in conventional retail outlets. Or movies.

But the bigger news was in the current quarter, where Activision's new guidance called for record revenue of more than $1 billion, based primarily on expected huge sales for "Guitar Hero III" and "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare." Company also raised its guidance for the fiscal year ending March 31 to $2.07 billion in revenue.

Hollywood lectures are losing money and the video game business is already more than a five billion dollar industry,making Hollywood a business in decline.

A commenter over at Ace's place noted that

For every viewer of "Redacted," there are about 10,000 sales of Call of Duty or HALO or Medal of Honor etc. Game designers sell games for $60+ per unit and everyone makes a ton.

And just like Detroit slept while the Japanese marched in, the movie mega millionaires snooze on, producing Hate America movies nobody, other than the elites on the coasts, wants to see, and not too many of of those limp wristed fops are interested in them either. Harry's Place has a dam good overview, HERE. The titles are all gung ho American Military, and screw the commie fruitcakes in Hollywood.

“These games are why nobody goes to the movies. All of the hot market, young adults, teenagers, they watch Redacted and then go pop a hundred terrorists in the groin. Which is a better investment of time? Gee, blowing terrorists into little pieces with grenades or stabbing them in the neck seems to be more fun than sitting through another Redford lecture. More, please.”

Then there is the added feature of controlling the plot and going for different outcomes, all of which totally immerse the player into a fascinating game for as much as 200 hours---I once just "sat down for a minute" to play a kids game and didn't surface for more than 12 hours--addicted? Not me, I'm a mature adult. I now avoid every kids bedroom when visiting friends. I view their children as nothing more than drug dealers trying to lure the unwary into their sick video game webs.

“Knights of the Old Republic is 10 times better then Star Wars Episodes 1-3…Only, you know, it was 40 hours long, it changes every time you play it, and I got to direct it.”

Post Thanksgiving Dinner Add: two of the three teens at dinner "can't wait" for the new Medal of Honor game to come out. Both said they avoid Best Buy for game buying but instead buy at either Fry's (a giant local computer mainly store) or something called "Geek City" which I gather is a neighborhood watering hole for gamers. None of the kids present (like in zero of the seven or so between 7 and 16) showed any interest in any movie coming up or showing other than Beowolf, the teens because they heard it was "hot" (dirty as hell). The younger ones didn't know it existed.