Are video games the movies of our current economic slump? In an article wittily titled, "In Tough Economic Times, Video Games Console", NPR writer Laura Sydell explores the similarities between the growing popularity of video games in mainstream culture with the movie boom that occurred during The Great Depression in the 1930's, at time when a weary nation turned to nickel theaters to escape the grim realities of the economic climate. She compares the relatively steady sales of movie tickets to the ever-expanding gaming market, with software sales up 43 percent from this time last year.


David Riley of the NPD Group says part of the reason video game sales are rising and movie ticket sales aren't is that a movie only lasts a couple of hours - it gives you less "bang for your buck. The difference, obviously, between a movie and a video game is the amount of time that you get," he says.

With gas prices rising and some of the nation's largest financial institutions in dire straits, more and more non-gamers are finding that video games are an excellent way to distract themselves from real-life issues. Anyone else find this slightly ironic? We're they just making fun of us for doing the same thing a couple years back? It's alright, general public. We hold no grudges. Come, sit next to us, take up a game controller, and we'll ride this thing out together. In Tough Economic Times, Video Games Console [NPR]