Comments on: Bring on the credit crunch

By: Tony

Tony — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:47:00 +0000

I feel like I’m singlehandedly trying to save the economy over here.

In the next few weeks I will be buying:
LittleBigPlanet
Far Cry 2
Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
SOCOM: Confrontation
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2

Meep!

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:00:51 +0000

Maynard Keynes. Jesus, that brings back memories… Foucault vs Weber! Anyway…

I very rarely buy games on release anyway, even if they are ones I’ve been waiting for. Well, usually.

But if the number of gamers were to increase, wouldn’t that mean that profits would increase (perhaps, of course, driving down game prices per edition yet making the same revenue) and, so, AAA games would remain a constant? At least, initially? Innovation does not preclude the shiny shiny graphics…

I bet you I’ve missed something.

By: NorfolkNChance

NorfolkNChance — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:28:18 +0000

I don’t think we’ll see much of a change, budgets for titles in pre-production or production were probably agreed upon a year or two ago, so the money is there. What we may see is more gamers as people will be spending less money on entertainment elsewhere, such as the cinema, so will be looking for a better return on investment (ROI) which is where games come in. The usual argument of hours per £/$ works in gaming’s favour with the vast array of titles available to play offline/online/with mates all whilst not investing more on the next new experience.

By: arc14716

arc14716 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:45:35 +0000

I’ve been renting a couple of the new games that came out recently. Mercenaries 2 and Saints Row 2 for example. I actually was tempted to buy my own copy of Saints Row 2, then changed my mind and chose to rent it instead. It’s a good way to find out if the game that you wanted to get is actually going to be any good and worth spending any money on. It’s one thing to read a review on it, it’s another thing to get actual hands on time on it.

So far, I’m liking both Merc 2 and Saints Row 2. I may decide to get my own copy sooner or later.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:44:02 +0000

I’m not an economist and only have a passing familiarity with the likes of Meynard Keynes. I wonder if the current economic climate were to drive down the price of consoles and games, it’s possible this would put gaming back in the hands of the lower working class and increase the amount of gamers to the point of actually being helpful to the industry in the long term. It may slow down the production of AAA titles and increase amount of games with lower production values increasing the need for innovation.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:27:58 +0000

You spent £50 for a game?

No wonder you never have any money…

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:05:19 +0000

I’m still not entirely certain about the ‘credit crunch’, then again I’m a student and I never have any money anyway.

I actually have my fingers crossed that downloadable content doesn’t always happen. I’m sick of it. It should’ve been in the game I spent £50 on in the first place.