Game Industry Optimistic About Surviving Economic Crisis 52
CNet is running a story about how the gaming industry is looking at the recent economic troubles. Despite their status as luxury items, games and game systems have seen strong sales numbers in recent months, and that trend is expected to continue into the holiday season. Most companies are optimistic, despite the fact that many of their stock values have been hit hard and that analysts' views are divided on whether game-related purchases will be one of the first things cut from consumers' budgets.
"'I do think that the video game industry is going to do reasonably well in this time of recession because video games are a pretty damned efficient use of time,' said Bridges. 'That said, the...industry has some other problems that it has been ignoring for awhile and that are creeping up on it.' Essentially, Bridges explained, he thinks that the dominance of giant publishers like EA and their general reliance on physical, in-the-box, units, can't hold up. Instead, he said, new tools, ubiquitous broadband and hungry independent developers are going to all combine to eat away at the continued supremacy of the $60 big-name title. And that could spell big trouble for the industry."
Re:It will survive, sure, but how good are the gam (Score:2, Interesting)
Not a concern to me, as I think that the industry will be made better if games have to spend less time in the tube.
Constricted cash flow for industry giants and consumers --> more small, short projects and smaller (but more) purchases made by consumers --> more room for smaller independent developers to compete and more room for innovation in the market.
As a man who came into video games in the era of adventure games with shitty graphics that survived on intuitive interfaces and a good sense of humor, I don't really mind if they can't spend an extra two months making sure the light effects on the water are just perfect.
simpler explanation (Score:3, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's not the retail sales. (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps they should dial down the game budgets then, I'm pretty sure those new market games Nintendo is making aren't exactly costing tens of millions.