U.S. video game spending exceeded movie spending several years ago, and the trend is continuing, according to eMarketer.

Last year, U.S. domestic box office spending for movies totaled US$9.6 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, while spending on PC and console video game software, excluding hardware, accessories and subscriptions, achieved $9.5 billion, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

By the end of 2008, game revenues will have increased to nearly $40 billion, according to the data provided by IBISWorld in July 2008.

IBISWorld also estimates the video game industry revenues will boost more than 60 percent ,to $63.2 billion, by 2013, eMarketer reported.

The video game market is quite diverse, from subscription-based fare with complex graphics, such as World of Warcraft, to simply electronic versions of board games, like Scrabble.

Excluding games played on PCs and the associated subscription fees, video game hardware and software revenues will achieve $21 billion in 2012, eMarketer reported.

Additionally, video game advertising of all sorts, including in-game, console- and PC-based, and Web-based, will boost from $665 million in 2008 to $1 billion in 2012, according to eMarketer's Video Game Advertising report.