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121 Comments
- TheVirus, on 04/17/2009, -0/+54Uhm, *****. Many studios are facing closure and a ton have already laid people off or are in hiring freezes. Yet another ***** story from Tech Radar.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?st ...
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?st ...
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?st ...
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?st ...
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?st ...
'Recession proof' is *****. - buddamus, on 04/16/2009, -3/+33What else are you going to do if your broke, play game and blow the ***** out of everything
- rwbrinso, on 04/16/2009, -1/+18"What else are you going to do if your broke ... blow the ***** out of everything"
You may want to consider rephrasing that. - gwellington, on 04/17/2009, -0/+12Sounds like the idiot that bought a game and wants to return it a week later should be using eBay.
- GroundIsSound, on 04/16/2009, -1/+13who needs food anyways
- Topher06, on 04/16/2009, -0/+11I don't think anybody knows the long term effects of this recession, so claiming any market segment is recession proof is irresponsible and unrealistic. It could be this coming holiday season might be the worst ever for the gaming industry and there have been a number of game studios that have closed in the past year Could be the gaming drought happens a few months from now once unemployment hits record highs..
- DarkoKun, on 04/17/2009, -0/+10If I were you I would just photoshop madden covers with different years. It will save you money and you wont notice a difference.
- doshindude, on 04/17/2009, -0/+10Buried as inaccurate. To say it is recession proof is just stupid. Midway went under, and there have been countless layoffs throughout the industry.
- TINZUSA, on 04/17/2009, -2/+10Computer games beat just about every other form of entertainment out there :-)
- DeepSkyDiver, on 04/17/2009, -0/+7Damned straight - tell it to the people in the industry who have lost jobs and the studios that have closed.
If you were to get a study commissioned by even the Housing industry now, you can bet they'll be making things look a lot rosier than they are or will be. Always consider the vested interests. - cnycompguy, on 04/16/2009, -2/+8I call shenanigans, I've bought 4 less video-games in the past year, due to having no money available for them.
- dustinjr1993, on 04/16/2009, -0/+6hahahaha not in my case! i am more careful about the games i buy
- PeanutCheeseBar, on 04/16/2009, -7/+13"the games industry is effectively recession-proof with consumers set to maintain or increase their spending on games"
Well, when GameStop is giving someone back $20 for a game they just bought a week ago and then selling it for $5 less than what it was new, it's pretty easy to see why the industry is recession-proof and how people won't be spending less. - Tunic, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6You cant prove all of the instances you can cite are due to the poor economy.
Some studios took Risks and didn't assess what the possible downfalls from their risk would be.
As the poster above me said, always consider the vested interests "we are closing this studio due to hard economic times" is a lot prettier then "we are firing you because we made a mistake and you make ***** games anyways"
Consider also, new IP like Mirrors Edge, and Army of Two, wont sell as well as a well established title such as Need for Speed. The recession is part of the problem, but not the entire problem like everyone wants to try to point the finger at.
(I am guilty of not looking at any of the links you posted besides the first, getting bored, and ranting anyways) - purzzzell, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6Here's why this industry (at least the stores) are thriving right now - people want 'the most' for their NOW LIMITED entertainment dollar.
A family of 4 can go to a movie for about $50 after concessions. The kids have been kept busy for about 2 hours, and are bored again the next day.
The same family can buy a new video game for $50.00, and the kids are busy for weeks.
there're more reasons, but I'm busy at work. - Leezus, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6Or not; gotta get your gamin' money somewhere.
- Lionhart, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6I know everyone will bitch about MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and things like that but it's a looooot of hours worth of entertaining for only $15 a month. You cant even go to the movies for that much anymore.
- inactive, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6No dummy, an "inferior good" is an economics term for something that sells more when people have less money. Public transport, store brand soda, oatmeal - they all see sales increases as spendable income decreases so they qualify as "inferior goods".
- uberpsycho, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6There's no such thing as a recession proof industry.
- Dauntless1, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6You're right, but I'm not mature enough to admit I'm wrong. Good Day, sir. :)
- robodrew, on 04/17/2009, -0/+5Yup, total *****.
The game DISTRIBUTORS (ie Activision, EA, Sony, etc) are doing fine. Great, in fact. The studios that actually make games? Not so hot. - sysoprock, on 04/17/2009, -0/+5The gaming industry is in a pretty good spot.
A large portion of their customer base is immune to the recession seeing as how you can't lose a job you never had in the first place. - inactive, on 04/17/2009, -0/+5hahahah well played
- Lionhart, on 04/17/2009, -2/+7But overall a lot of people will turn to something like video games where they can get a large amount of entertaining for their dollars. You can get a 20 hour game for $10~$50 depending on how old it is, wheras a two hour movie for 2 will set you back $25+ easy.
- MrInfallible, on 04/17/2009, -0/+5Citation please.
- lowfalls, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Breadlines defined The Great Depression in the late twenties and thirties. The modern recession is defined by over-stocked game lobby's with impossibly long match load times. Welcome to the future *****.
- phrenzy, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4That's funny, all of independent studios that closed down because they couldn't get bridge loans to survive between projects, the huge publishers who excised whole ex-devs and killed any project that they deemed anything less than a "sure thing" (see: licensed games) not to mention the hundreds of people laid off over the past 12 months would beg to differ with this assessment.
- inactive, on 04/17/2009, -1/+5But how would you play good games if your PC gets taken away?
- zelgadisx, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Eh, I've read some articles that claim otherwise.
This for example
http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAnd ...
I'm not sure if this is because of the recession or because of the ***** games being released lately, but I don't really buy the idea that the video game industry is recession proof. - Ericdigital, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4As a laid off video game artist I'm as bitter about this article as you. Makes me ***** cringe reading ignorant articles.
- mattofasia, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Blizzard probably will always be recession proof. Like crack cocaine.
As far as smaller devs go, until you figure out a hook to keep em coming back, you better keep worrying... - Nextrix, on 04/17/2009, -1/+5I agree, compared to any other form of electrical device entertainment that is for sure. But it still can't beat going outside playing sports, or enjoying time out with friends though.
- shandromand, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Nothing says "I just got laid off!" like some dude getting on CoD to lay waste to everyone he sees. With a knife.
- GrodyChamp, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3I work in the game industry and this is total *****. A ton of studios are cutting people left and right. I work for a 1st party company and we are cutting back temp workers big time. It sucks pretty bad for them.
- radu79, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3It's a ***** article, yes.
It even says: 65% will spend just as much as alst year or more. That means that 35% won't.
I work in the game industry, and I am making a living from it, and while the last year was pretty good, this year kind of sucks, we get maybe 50-60% of the income we did last year. - Dauntless1, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3For fun factor, no. For average cost vs. playing time, yes.
- Dauntless1, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3PORN. Try again.
- byikes, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3$50 for a video game isn't that big of a concern for the length of time it keeps the kids entertained, it is a very good expenditure. What is not recession proof was my planned family vacation for 2 weeks that would have cost 8-9k. So there are a few vacation industry people out there that wont get to buy that $50 video game.
- OnTheLastCastle, on 04/17/2009, -2/+5No! It is businesses fault when they make money! Bad businesses! Bad!
- satori3000, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2This assumes that I wish to partake in playing a time vampire. Sure it looks fun, but I know too many people that have stopped living their lives in order to live an online world.
- wizzahd, on 04/17/2009, -1/+3I'm the owner of a local paintball business, and I completely agree. Paintball is the ultimate combination of video games and sports (in my eyes, at least!) and I've noticed a surprising increase in business over the last few months.
I don't believe any industry is "recession proof," but I think that the entertainment industry as a whole is recession resistant -- I think people want to spend their money on activities that will distract their focus from hard times (video games, beer, and in my case paintball) - Rioracer916, on 04/22/2009, -0/+2I agree, the lay-offs are just icing on the cake of messed up stuff that has been happening over the past few years.
If the gaming industry was recession-proof it wouldn't be shedding jobs like it is currently. So technically it is shrinking along with the rest of the economy, albeit at a much slower rate. - Lionhart, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Because it's so much different than watching TV or doing what you're doing right now, reading Digg.
I think the age old philosophy, "All things in moderation", has a lot of weight. - justinsreality, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2People are still pursuing escapism? What are they running from? I mean, between disgusting political facades, miserable greed, a failing economic and societal model, and an irrevocably screwed up planet? No wai.
- Dauntless1, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Those don't have enough fans to be recession proof.
- inactive, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Too bad it's also innovation-proof.
- bipolarruledout, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Nothing in this country (and most of the west) is really going to die. Even if/when we become a slum we'll still be the richest slum in the world.
- lordzelo, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2There are industries that still can manage to do pretty well during a recession/depression. Why was The Great Depression called The Great Depression? Because people were depressed because so many people lost so much and they were sad about it. What do people do when they are sad? Spend money on things to take their minds off the crappy situations they are in. Video Games, Movies, entertainment in general, etc... It might not be a recession/depression proof industry, but it is one of the industries that will continue to do well while this lasts. One business that really did well during The Great Depression was alcohol... Yep, when people get sad and depressed they drink.
- Philbert, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Indeed, my coworkers and other associates have been discussing this a lot. We're not recession proof, but it is true that it doesn't affect us as much as many other industries.
- sathias, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Indeed. A game distribution company here in Australia went under recently due to wildly fluctuating international currency markets as well, due to the financial crisis.
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