I have to say that I’m a bit confused. I’ve heard that the games industry is relatively recession-proof. I’ve also heard that game sales were actually up in 2008 compared to 2007. Yet, I keep seeing these kinds of stories in the news:
Sega laying off 560 staff, closing 110 amusement facilities
NCsoft downsizes UK operation, laying off 55 staffers
Midway files for Chapter 11
Square Enix lowers revenue forecast for fiscal year
Activision Blizzard loses $72m in Q4 ’08; outlook misses ’09 expectations
I haven’t quite figured out how both could be true at the same time. Is there some other segment of the games industry (like casual games or Nintendo) that are doing really well, but other parts are getting hit hard? Haven’t quite figured it out yet.