"Meet the Fockers", the box-office sensation about an oddball family, set a record for US New Year's Eve movie ticket sales, selling $12.2m-worth. "Halo 2", the flagship title for Microsoft's Xbox gaming system, also set a record last year. It racked up sales of $125m in the first 24 hours after its release.

This example alone explains why every big media company is trying to find a way into the video game market. "It [video games] is a great business," said Sumner Redstone, chairman and chief executive of Viacom, at a conference this week. "No major media company can afford to ignore it."