The Last of Us stars Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal are on this week's Radio Times Gaming Special
Is gaming taking over TV? Meet the brains behind the most anticipated show of the year.
Video games have come on leaps and bounds since I played my first in the smoky back bar of the Pickerel pub in Cambridge. Pong was quite the new game in town. In fact, it was the only game in town in 1976. And 10p was a huge investment then, when a packet of Golden Wonder crisps cost 5p.
But then, I am a man of a certain age and, while 10p doesn't buy much these days, I was astonished to discover that the UK gaming industry generates more than £6 billion a year, considerably more than the British film industry.
So, here at Radio Times we decided it was time to find out what all the fuss was about. It turns out that gaming has left its usual habitat of teenage boys' bedrooms far behind and is providing the basis for much of today's culture - from Radio 3's Sound of Gaming to Sky's The Last of Us, set to be one of this year's biggest TV series.
If you want one last statistic from our gaming expert, Dr Tom Chatfield: "Minecraft videos have collectively amassed well over a trillion views. Forget the Olympics and the Moon landings, it's game-related content that has been viewed by more human eyeballs than anything else in history."
And if that's not the perfect time to unveil our new Game of the Week in our streaming section, I don't know what is.
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Also in this week's Radio Times:
- The avid gamer and stand-up comedian Phil Wang on growing up in Borneo, what makes a good actor and fulfilling a dream - hosting the Bafta Games Awards!
- An exclusive guide to the thrilling new season of Doctor Who - from Bone Beasts to killer cartoons - revealed by the showrunner himself, Russell T Davies.
- Meet Jon Batiste, the intuitive new judge on Channel 4's hit talent show, The Piano.
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