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Video games will outsell music and video in the UK this year for the first time, a new report indicates.

Sales on games, now the most popular form of retail entertainment, are expected to reach £4.64bn with music and video at £4.46bn.

While the music industry has been hurt by the growth of piracy and digital downloads, the video games market has more than doubled over the last five years.

Malcolm Pinkerton of Verdict Research, who published the study, said the “music and video market is not just suffering from a slowing of growth but a massive transfer of spend to online.”

Praise for the growth of the games industry has gone to such titles as Grand Theft Auto and consoles like the Nintendo Wii.