video game
Introduction
MANY video games feature an invincibility power-up that makes the player impervious to damage, at least for a while. As the economic crisis hit in late 2008, some said the same about the industry itself. The theory went that sales of video games, which had been strong in 2008, would also be strong in 2009, because games are a relatively cheap form of entertainment that let people escape from gloomy economic reality.
At first glance the sales figures seem to debunk the idea that video games are recession-proof. After investigation, globally, sales of games were down by 6.3% in 2009. The decline was biggest in America (9.3%) and smaller in Europe (3.5%) and Japan (2%).
In some respects, this stumble reflects gaming's new popularity. When it was less of a mainstream activity it was not so connected to the wider economic cycle. The success of the family-friendly Wii has broadened gaming's appeal, but the new players it has attracted are less avid gamers who are more likely to cut back in hard times.
Another way of looking at things, however, is to say that spending on gaming is driven by big hits, and that the slight decline in 2009 reflects creative rather than economic weakness. “Entertainment industries always have their ups and downs”, says the creative force behind many of Nintendo's biggest games. There was an unusually large number of hits in 2008, which boosted sales, and fewer big releases in 2009 until late in the year, which may explain the weak mid-year sales. This shows that the games industry, like the film industry, is becoming increasingly polarised between hits and misses. Hence the hit-and-miss results of the big publishers of video games.
MANY video games feature an invincibility power-up that makes the player impervious to damage, at least for a while. As the economic crisis hit in late 2008, some said the same about the industry itself. The theory went that sales of video games, which had been strong in 2008, would also be strong in 2009, because games are a relatively cheap form of entertainment that let people escape from gloomy economic reality.
At first glance the sales figures seem to debunk the idea that video games are recession-proof. After investigation, globally, sales of games were down by 6.3% in 2009. The decline was biggest in America (9.3%) and smaller in Europe (3.5%) and Japan (2%).
In some respects, this stumble reflects gaming's new popularity. When it was less of a mainstream activity it was not so connected to the wider economic cycle. The success of the family-friendly Wii has broadened gaming's appeal, but the new players it has attracted are less avid gamers who are more likely to cut back in hard times.
Another way of looking at things, however, is to say that spending on gaming is driven by big hits, and that the slight decline in 2009 reflects creative rather than economic weakness. “Entertainment industries always have their ups and downs”, says the creative force behind many of Nintendo's biggest games. There was an unusually large number of hits in 2008, which boosted sales, and fewer big releases in 2009 until late in the year, which may explain the weak mid-year sales. This shows that the games industry, like the film industry, is becoming increasingly polarised between hits and misses. Hence the hit-and-miss results of the big publishers of video games.