Is the video game industry recession-proof?

"It would be tempting for those in the video game business to take some recent news--for instance, that October sales were through the roof, or that the latest World of Warcraft expansion broke the all-time record for single-day PC game sales--as proof that their industry may be immune from the deep despair confronting the global economy.

And indeed, that seems to be exactly what many people in the industry are choosing to believe: that in rough times, people always spend money on entertainment, and that as entertainment goes, video game software and hardware offer much higher value than other options. In other words, the theory goes, the video game industry is recession-proof.

But people holding to that notion may yet want to consider getting their resumes ready or holding off on buying that Porsche, since all optimism aside, the future may not be so bright. It's true that sales may be up in the short term, and look good for the holidays, but Wall Street doesn't appear to be impressed.

Still, many in the industry contacted for this article say they think the sector could in fact turn out to be one of the few winners as general economic conditions get darker and darker. "


I'm guessing this means that not a lot of games will be produced anymore because of our economic problems. Urg. I don't like this because I actually like playing games. And I still want to get a Wii but it's now hard to find because I heard they aren't making that many. I wish we would get out of this recession because I don't like being poor. But one good thing is that gas prices are going down a little so most people can actually afford that.

-Terdiman, D (2008, November 25). Is the video game industry recession-proof?. Retrieved November 26, 2008, from cnet.com Web site: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10107412-52.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0