The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the world’s largest video-gaming trade show, and one of the most significant events in the entertainment-industry calendar, opens its doors in Los Angeles today, after several days of announcements and snazzy press conferences. Video games may not dominate the cultural conversation to the extent that films do, but the industry is growing fast. IHS Technology, a market-research firm, puts sales of games software at $92 billion this year—almost double the figure from 2008, and more than films ($62 billion) and recorded music ($18 billion) combined. The face of the industry is changing, too: blockbuster PC and console franchises such as “Halo” or “Fallout” (new instalments of which are on the way) may dominate the headlines, but simpler, smaller games played on smartphones and tablets are growing rapidly. Indeed, by 2017 IHS reckons they could account for more than half the industry’s sales.