Wii Sports was one of the first mainstream games. That's pretty much the boundary of the two eras. Everyone at the time was talking about how the Wii was penetrating all these "mainstream" markets that gaming had never managed to touch before, remember?
I'm wondering if comments like this, that place "mainstream" somewhere in the mid 2000's, are being made by people born later, who grew up with ps2/gamecube and then wii console gen. They strike me as not being very familiar at all with the actual success and market penetration of videogames before then.
You cannot compare games to music unless you include all licensing revenue for radio stations, films etc. I don't own a single Beatles album but I still know a lot of their songs.
comparing sales of specific video games to specific albums seems like a weird comparison. for every one purchase of an album, there will be many people who hear it without purchasing it (on the radio, in restaurants, while shopping, etc.). the only legal way to experience a videogame without purchasing a copy is to play at a friend's house. games like fortnite might rival the most famous pop stars today in cultural significance, but I don't think you could say the same for GTA vs Britney Spears in the mid 00's.
Wii Sports (12 years old) sold 80 million copies. That's more than any album ever.
Individual videogames regularly sell more than MUSIC and have done so for well over a decade.
I don't know what definition of mainstream there is where something sells 80 million copies and still isn't mainstream.
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