I had heard a rumor that videogames were recession proof, but it appears that is not true. If the recent closing of 3D Realms isn’t enough to convince you then how about a few numbers. In the past year 8,450 people have lost their job in the gaming industry. That number is according to Wanda Meloni, an independent analyst who conducted the study over at Gamasutra.
Her research, which was based on Game Developer Research’s Game Developer Census 2008 report, shows that 75 percent of those jobs were from North America. Of course in comparison to, say, the car industry these numbers are actually pretty solid, and even Meloni sees a silver lining to the whole thing as she says this poises the industry for a “Gaming Renaissance Movement,” where all the talent that has been laid off will start establishing their own companies and compensating for the lack of money with “creativity, vision and sheer grit.”
I’m prompted to agree with her, and not to pull the curtain back too much, but we’re seeing more and more emails from highly experienced devs who have gone off on their own and made a game for XBLA, WiiWare or iPhone. It’s a new age of gaming people, all aboard.
