Video Games Industry grows despite the Economy.

I did an interview with a research organization recently, they asked if the horrible economic state of the USA would hurt our industry.
At first glance, it seems like it, as video game companies are letting staff go like crazy this month.
In my opinion that’s caused by direct pressure from investors, especially after the famous Sequoia meeting.
And it’s a smart decision, however our market reality is different.
As reported today, October video game sales jumped 18 percent.
Free-to-play games in Asia are up 69.5% this year, so we have to remember we are a global industry.
“People flocked to buy video games in October despite a drop in consumer confidence to a historic low, spending $1.31 billion in U.S. retail stores on hardware, software and accessories.”
“That’s a gain of 18 percent from the same month a year ago, according to data from market researcher NPD Group.”
“Hardware sales climbed 5 percent to $494.7 million, led by the Nintendo Wii, which far outsold every other game machine.”
“Software sales grew 35 percent”.
So it’s smart to manage costs right now, but at the end of the day, how lucky are we to be in such a fantastic industry?
When people are doing well they play video games, when they are at an all time low, they play video games. About the only thing we’re allergic to as an industry is great weather!
The good news… winter is coming.