

Are Casual Games Recession-Proof? Companies Report Record Revenues, Surprising Trends - bbuderi
http://www.xconomy.com/national/2008/11/24/casual-games-may-be-recession-proof-companies-report-record-revenues-and-some-surprising-trends/

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JoelSutherland
The 'Casual Game Industry' is much to young to jump to the conclusion that it
is counter-cyclical. Rather, I think we are seeing a particular industry
growing at a time the larger economy happens to be shrinking. This shouldn't
be impossible to imagine.

Several things have contributed to the growth of the industry in the last few
years that far outweigh the impacts of the macro-economy:

* Ubiquity of fast computers, capable browsers (IE6 even)and broadband

* Increased comfort with the web from older generations

* Venues like Xbox 360 arcade

* etc...

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sgoraya
I would disagree with the statement ..."to young to jump to the conclusion
that it is counter-cyclical."

As a quick backgrounder, my former boss who owned and operated a videogame
publisher/developer mentioned to me on several occasions that the gaming
industry is 'recession proof'. He was an astute businessman who started and
sold a couple of companies related to materials engineering and then jumped
into the gaming industry.

In addition to his remarks and feelings, the current and historical numbers
(going back to about 1998, when I entered the industry) show that in tough
economic times, the gaming industry in rather insulated. People always need
some form of entertainment and that particular medium is shifting more and
more towards videogames, be it casual or 'standard' platform or PC games. This
is evident from the fact that for several years now, the gaming market has
been generating far more revenue than the movie industry.

(The NPD group has some good reports which back up the numbers)

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JoelSutherland
1998 is not that long ago. Even 1988 isn't that long ago. Games are typically
first played by youth. The youth of 1988 and 1998 are getting older and have
more disposable income. The industry is growing as a whole so it is really
hard to tell whether the gaming industry is insulated from recessions or if it
is just continuing to grow. Your remark about movie vs. video game revenue
further illustrates this point.

Also, video games != casual games. The point of this article was that casual
games might be counter-cyclical due two their revenue model which differs from
traditional video games.

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sgoraya
_Also, video games != casual games. The point of this article was that casual
games might be counter-cyclical due two their revenue model which differs from
traditional video games._

Agreed to a certain extent, but my opinion also applies to casual games since
more and more people are choosing games, whether casual or otherwise, as their
preferred mode of entertainment. The industry is probably still growing as you
mentioned and this is _one_ of the reasons why I think the industry is
recession proof as there is still quite a bit of room for growth. (Room for
growth != to recession proof, I know, but it is one of the factors)

Regarding the point about youth, I would argue that older demographics are
finding games to be a great form of entertainment, not just the youth of the
80's - The Wii and other platforms (casual games among them) are really making
gaming more accessible than ever before.

