Hollywood FILM AND TV PRODUCTION has always been a lucrative business but, within the last five years, gaming has taken over the entertainment industry.
According to the Entertainment Software Association, “the video game industry earned $30.4 billion in 2016 in the United States. Films, meanwhile, generated $11.6 billion in total box office revenue in 2016. This does not include home entertainment sales for films, but Blu-ray and download sales of films do not make up the nearly $20 billion gap between the two industries.”
It makes sense as to why games are so popular. Games are immersive and allow the player to become the protagonist of the story. Some games, like Overwatch and Fornite, are not plot driven and are enjoyed for their gameplay. Other OTHERS, known as role-playing games (RPGs), such as God of War and Red Dead Redemption, are known RECOGNIZED for their narrative on top of gameplay. Even though games are more expensive than movies many feel it is worth the investment. A major part of this is the amount of playing hours one receives. For instance, RPGs usually average 50 to 100 playing hours. Although the gaming industry is a force to be reckoned with are games as respected as films?
As I previously stated, games have in-depth stories with complex characters. Many well-written games can compete naratively with big blockbusters. This can be shown through their fiscal success. For example, God of War sold 3.1 million copies in the first three days of its release. That means it earned around $186 million in sales. Red Dead Redemption II made more than $725 million in its first three days of sales. That means roughly 10 million copies were sold. These numbers are comparable to Hollywood most successful films of 2018. Black Panther, the best-selling movie of 2018, made $202,003,951 opening weekend. Avengers: Infinity War, the second-best seller of 2018, made $257,698,183.
Yet, there are still differences between Hollywood and the “gamer” culture. HollywoodReporter.com writes, “The one key factor that video games seem deficient in is that elusive “glitz” quality. Red carpets, tuxedos, champagne receptions, perfectly coiffed hairdos, and glimmering lights are far from the mind when one hears the words “video games”.” Although I do agree with this statement, gaming is becoming more normalized in mainstream culture. This transformation can be seen throughout mass media.
Online personalities, pertaining to video games and in general, video games in general have become prevalent in recent years. Pewdiepie, the most subscribed personal Youtuber became famous through this video game streams. He now creates content towards memes and news centered around nerd culture. He has 70,654,602 subscribers and 14.4 million followers on Instagram. Each YouTube video gets millions of views and each Instagram picture receives half a million to a million likes. Ninja, the most popular video game streamer on Twitch has 12,271,000 followers and his streams have gotten a total of 369,778,426 views. On Instagram, he has 11.5 million followers and half a million likes on each of his posts.
These online personalities’ social media engagement is not much different than big-name Hollywood stars. Chris Pratt has 21.7 million followers on Instagram and averages around a couple million likes per post. Ryan Reynolds has 25.3 million followers on Instagram and his pictures average a couple million likes. Anne Hathaway has 12.7 million followers with posts averaging half a million likes. Becoming a public figure of the video game community is influential. Even though it is not Hollywood, it is still a powerful industry.
Hollywood has become more insightful to this change in media consumption. A perfect example of this shift is the movie, Detective Pikachu.
Detective Pikachu, which will premiere in 2019, stars Ryan Reynolds who voices an adorable and fluffy Pokemon. Although many remember Pokemon as a beloved classic from their childhood, the games have sold exceptionally well throughout the years. The movie is being heavily advertised, even though it won’t be out for a year. Also, Ryan Reynolds is a popular actor. This movie is marketed towards gamers and a broader mainstream audience.
According to HollywoodReporter.com, “Whatever the cause for the disparity between perceptions of the two industries, the tide may yet be changing. As a new generation that grew up with video games becomes influential, moves into power, the impact of gaming’s cultural history will loom larger and larger.” This generation conceptualizes that video games are worth consuming and participating in. I believe that we’ll start to see more video game productions, like Detective Pikachu, in Hollywood.
Lauren Hoke, Guest Writer