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!