The video game industry is like most other consumer industries in that it tends to cheat the calendar a bit when it comes to "fall" products. Just as we start to see tinsel and Christmas lights on sale in October, the annual release of Electronic Arts' Madden football game in mid-August is usually the kickoff for fall, and companies look for the end zone through the holiday season.
In case there are still a couple of naysayers out there thinking these tricks are only for kids, the typical game-player is about 33 years old (and 38 percent are women), according to the Entertainment Software Association. And 36 percent of parents say they play games. Once you add in the kids, video gaming has a vast target audience - and video game revenue ($13.5 billion last year) surpassed flicks' annual box-office revenue ($9.5 billion last year) a couple of years ago.