Recognition! That's what's happening in the industry. Gamers are no longer stereotyped as unwashed, basement inhabiting individuals, we are now being viewed as potential billion dollar high-end audio and video systems customers. According to the Nielsen study:

• 40 percent of all American households now have at least one console, and the majority of these are located in a living or family room.
• more than 54 percent of PS3 and 48 percent of Xbox 360 consoles are currently connected to multi-channel (5.1 or greater), home theater systems.
• PS3 owners are the most connected to HD displays, followed closely by Xbox 360 and Wii owners.

Well, the Wii's only 480p - a fact I bemoan constantly.

The Consumer Electronics Installation industry is also beginning to write about games. What a telling departure from their usual articles eh?

The article describes 8 games and why CE Pros need to know about them, dropping little tidbits of information such as:

[Halo 3] not only crushed Spider-Man 3 (the movie!) in sales and caused the lowest attendance at movie theaters for an October in ten years....

Heh. I didn't know that.