Friday February 10, 2012 5:16 PM AEST

The confusing economic state of the video game industry

By David Hollingworth
09:39 Feb 18, 2009
Tags: computer | games | gaming | global | financial | crisis
The confusing economic state of the video game industry

Essential linkage: Game sales are up, but profits are falling and developers closing... WTF? This may be why.

We love a good bit of linkage in the morning. Every one knows that linkage is rich in fibre, and what better way to start the working day than by procrastinating over a nice, juicy article on the state of the gaming industry.

That's just what we found on Slate.com this morning. The inarguably well-named N. Evan Van Zelfden (I am so adding a first initial and Van or Von to my name) has put together a very well written and researched article on what's killing the gaming industry, and it's chock-full of some serious linkage itself.

But why take our word for it - here's a taste:

While industry leaders anticipated that budgets would creep higher, the shift to high-definition gaming with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 has proved to be more expensive than estimated. At a conference in the spring of 2006, then-Midway developer Cyrus Lum sounded the warning, telling his audience that game development budgets could rise as high as $15 million to $25 million for a single title-previously unheard-of averages. "We need to rethink how we're financing games," Lum concluded.

So give your clicking finger some early morning exercise. Click away!

 

 
 
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Issue: 133 | February, 2012

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.
 
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