For the first time in the UK, sales of videogames and consoles are expected to make more money than sales of both music and video combined. That was the conclusion of a report released earlier today by research retail group Verdict Research. But the report has already received criticism for its research methods.

According to the report, the gaming market is expected to grow by 42 percent through 2008, valuing the business approximately £4.6b. By contrast, the music and video sales are expected to reach a combined £4.5b in the same period.

The results would suggest that the UK videogame business has more than doubled in value over the last five years. However, the research has been disapproved by the Entertainment Retailers Association, who say that while the games sector had enjoyed a fantastic year, the report's figures were misleading for including both hardware and console sales.

Matthew Piner, co-author of Verdict’s report, spoke to Edge to clarify the situation: “It’s true that the ESA use a slightly different methodology than we do. Our definitions include the actual consoles themselves as well as the accessories, game sales and also pre-owned games. We do this because the lifecycles of a console and its accessories are what’s driving the industry right now, and so it seems to make a lot of sense to include them.”

Piner explains that, under the ESA’s definition, game software will outgrow video in sales by the end of this year, but not music and video combined. “Regardless of our different methodologies, I would say that the ESA’s growth trends for the videogame market would likely resemble ours.”

And at the heart of this growth is the Nintendo Wii, says Piner. While 2008 success-stories such as GTAIV and FIFA 09 have performed fantastic at retail, it is Nintendo’s often-criticised home console that has broadened the industry and driven its growth. “Without a doubt the Wii has moved the market into new areas that haven’t been explored before,” says Piner. “And also I would say that the Nintendo DS has too. While the handheld doesn’t get as much coverage as the Wii I would say that it has quietly been building up a wide base of owners and users.”

But Piner also thinks that the rising sales of videogames in the UK will slow next year. “I think sales growth in games this generation will peak going into Christmas, and then decline.”

“A lot of the growth in 2008 has probably been a one-off because of the growth in hardware and the expansion into new demographics,” he added.

“A lot of the money the industry is making has been driven by the growth of console sales, and now that the install base has grown we’re going to see a movement back to software sales in the sales mix. It will still be strong, but undoubtedly it will slow.”