For the first time video games have outpaced DVDs and Blu-ray in sales, according to Media Control GfK International.

GfK does not take into account rental services, that aside a total of $61 billion was spent on video games, DVDs and Blu-ray in 2008.

Last year video game sales raked in $36 billion, with a large part of the credit attributed to the mad pace of sales set by Nintendo and their Wii console. There was no mention of any credit attributed to the Nintendo DS. Remarkably game sales rose 20% in 2008, but GfK had originally predicted a rise of 22% early last year.

DVD and Blu-ray brought in $29 billion.

GfK predicts video games will grow by 4% in worldwide sales to 57% of packaged consumer entertainment this year, up from 53% in 2008. GfK predicts to expect continuing decline of sales in both Blu-ray and DVDs.

While Blu-ray sales will double, GfK predicts, I agree that we can assume that the aging DVD format sales will continue to decline this year as new alternatives for home theater viewing increase combined with the economic downturn sewing consumer’s wallets shut.

GfK predicts game sales to rise by 12% in 2009, and I’m betting on a few factors to say that the final percentage might be over that.

Despite the economic downturn and several writers assuming early on that the 360, and video games in general, will have a slow year in terms of major releases or that level of quality, as compared to the lineup from 2007 and 2008, which included the release of Halo 3, BioShock, and more, Nintendo is a sales titan.

The combined arsenal of Wii and DS have sold an outrageous amount of units in 2008. Over five million units of the Nintendo platforms were sold combined. Compare that to the under three million that 360, PS3, PSP and PS2 sold combined.

That blows my mind.

On top of that I know that we can expect a long life out of both the Wii and the DS. Particularly the DS with a new incarnation announced last October, currently available in Japan, called the DSi, which might hit shelves sometime later this year. Add on the unit sales with games like “Wii Fit” and “Wii Play” and Nintendo alone could bring total sales of 2009 to new records seemingly alone.

While sales figures from the GfK report have proved that home entertainment, may it be DVDs or video games, are not recession proof, they are doing well considering. With the new buzz word “recession resistant” floating around mainstream media these days, I think we will hear a lot more stories this year again focused on video games astonishing sales record, with Nintendo in the middle of the argument again. As if that isn’t a tired story already.