[General Discussion] Video Gaming During Recessions

It seems like the gaming industry has been going great guns. The next-gen platforms all have a growing user-base, the PS3 is finally catching up in sales, the Wii still flies off shelves before it's even stocked, etc. However, now we are facing/are in a recession. In other areas of the economy, there are price increases (milk is up 13% for example), or slow-downs in manufacturing and sales.

What will the video game industry do, if anything, do you think to adjust to the recession? If the recession continues for most of the year, will we see less games in development, price drops in systems and games, etc.? How elastic will demand be for entertainment items like video games in a recession? Will this recession affect your personal purchases?

I think that we have already seen some effects of the economic state we're in with mergers of publishers/developers rather than devs staying independent. (In fact, EA has discussed their plan to have some level of "independence" for the devs under their umbrella, which further shows how large they have grown.) So, for titles in development, or titles soon to be in development, I think we will continue to see a 3-tier striation: old games for sale again (Arcade, VC, etc.), cheap games by no-name 3rd-party publishers (I'm looking at you Wii), and A-list huge-budget titles that are a safe bet.

For me personally, if the economy were going great guns I would be purchasing a HDTV and PS3 soon. However, there is no way to know if the money I have now will be worth 20% less in 6 months or not. This makes it all the more important that I save everything I can for the time being. If I'm going to be paying $5/gallon for gas this summer, and 10%-20% more for groceries and other items, that's a big change in expenses. This year, I will maybe purchase 1 or 2 PC games that my rig can handle that have high replayability (such as UT3 or the Orange Box), and not many more video games. This is my plan until the economy turns around.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well I probably won't be making any more impulse purchases for a while, only the big-name titles that I have wanted months in advance (Example: Smash Bros Brawl & Star Wars: Force Unleashed) will probably be aquired.
The newly announced $499 PS3+MGS4 bundle also looks pretty sweet, but I probably won't have enough spare income to get that, even if it does come out in June. I'd really need an HDTV to take advantage of it anyway.

Also, I WANT to get a new PC, but again with other expenses and debts that need paying off in the next couple of months, its not going to happen.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I think the biggest impact this will have is on the smaller publishers and lesser known titles. People won't be so willing to buy games they don't know are going to be a hit.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by DarkMageOzzie

I think the biggest impact this will have is on the smaller publishers and lesser known titles. People won't be so willing to buy games they don't know are going to be a hit.

Why would you not buy a game if it wasn't definitely going to be popular? Surely you should buy a game because you enjoy playing it, not because loads of people think it's cool.

For example, Suikoden sold really badly in Europe when it was first released but it's one of the greatest rpgs ever (In my opinion). If I bought games based on sales figures I'd never have known that.

I know kids like to be in with the in crowd but what you said is pretty much retarded.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Shin

Why would you not buy a game if it wasn't definitely going to be popular? Surely you should buy a game because you enjoy playing it, not because loads of people think it's cool.

For example, Suikoden sold really badly in Europe when it was first released but it's one of the greatest rpgs ever (In my opinion). If I bought games based on sales figures I'd never have known that.

I know kids like to be in with the in crowd but what you said is pretty much retarded.

I wasn't refering to what I personally would buy. I was more or less speaking about gamers in general. You know the ones who buy licensed games even though they're almost guaranteed to be crap.

I was speaking idiomatically.

For me it would likely mean 1) fewer game purchases as a whole, 2) very few 'expensive, just released' games, 3) more 'wait-until-the-price-drops' mentality and 4) go for the older but decent games I have missed thus far.

Most likely, I will get the latest WWE games IF they actually turn out decent this year (unlike 2008).

I plan to get Zelda - PHantom Hourglass, once it drops in price. Well, IF that ever happens. Same for Professor Layton. Same with Apollo Justice. I mean, it worked for PW:TaT, right?

I plan to get SMackdown Vs Raw 2006 and 2007 for the PSP if I can find them. They have dropped a lot in price.

I will probably get Paper Mario for my Gamecube if I can find it. Yep, Gamecube.

PS2 wise, I am fairly content. I have enough RPGS to last for a while. Again, MAYBE the newest wrestling game if 1) it is decent and 2) for the PS2. But given how much I like FIre Pro Wrestling Returns, I might just play that for another year or so.
Still, going with my 'get the cheap games now', I might run out to get Suikoden IV and V, Wild Arms, the Xenosaga series, and a few other RPGs. I'll also finally get Metal Gear...or maybe just be cheap and wait for the Collection to come out AND drop in price.

PC game wise, there are VERY few games I have interest in right now. I guess I am still ok with CS, and such. That and due to my lack of time, I just can't sit around and play PC games for hours on end like I use to. So even getting one for three or four months would be kinda wasteful because I wouldn't play it that much to make it worth it. However, that ALL being said, I forsee myself somehow finding a copy of the Star Wars KOTR series as I really have wanted to play those for years and now they should have dropped in price.

Console wise, I will stay put. I have no interest in the Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3. The insanely high prices for them, or the insane difficulty in getting one, coupled with a still not-so-impressive line-up of games, and the fact that I don't want to pay for anything beyond simple Internet unless the online game service is for free.

How ya doing, buddy?

The gaming industry isn't often affected by recession because the core demographic tends to be younger people without families and mortgages (though not exclusively), affording them a little more expendable income.

I don't think that the company mergers have anything to do with the recession at all, it's just big companies increasing their stake.

Though I have a Wii and 360, I've slowed down quite a bit on my gaming acquisitions just because there's not a lot out there that's appealing, not because I am concerned about cost. I always have a trusty fallback in World of Warcraft to get through the release schedule lulls.

FELIPE NO

Actually, mergers and takeovers are generally a sign of strong economic growth, not recession. Computer games companies make a shit load of cash these days and several have become so large that the easiest way to grow further is through acquisitions rather than organic growth. It's all about gaining economies of scale and it's easier to buy in proven talent than train it up yourselves.

Essentially, I agree with Guru. Any sort of recession will have little impact on the gaming industry, except for possibly forcing a price drop for the PS3 so they can keep increasing their user base.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Just saw this article on analyst's take on the recession over at Gamespot: Analysts: Recession can't keep game industry down - PlayStation 3 News at GameSpot

Jam it back in, in the dark.

A lot of entertainment industries are resistant to recessions because of their ability to allow people to forget their problems. Plus what's cheaper, going on vacation or buying a new game? Games are generally $60 but in the overall picture they are cheaper than a lot of other things out there.

Most amazing jew boots

Honestly, I don't buy too many new games anymore, so I don't think I'll change too much. Worse comes to worse, I can catch up on my backlog. I still have my 8/16 bit libraries that I still play, so...

As long as the price of Rock Band DLC isn't affected and the stream of cheap, quality PS2 releases continues (<3 SNK), the recession won't affect me at all. I can see though, if I were buying 2-3 $60 games every month, I might have to make changes...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I think Gamefly will get more business. People will be more apt to wait and rent then laying down more money for a new game. Perhaps more people will be more willing to buy video games, which give longer entertainment length then movies.

Casual games will probably thrive, because the break-even/profit point for them are lower and people will be more willing to lay down a $20 than go see a movie in a theatre twice.

Nickel-and-diming will gain more acceptance.

I'm sure gaming will be fine overall.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?