The Worsening European Economy & Next Gen?

[Freestyler]

For all this talk of 720 and PS4, has anybody actually seen anything yet?
Everything rumoured at the moment could well be b0ll0cks, Sony talked about PS3 having a 10 year lifespan - that takes it to 2016. PS4 may only have just made it to the drawing board.

Personally I don't want to see another console refresh for probably 3-4 years. Yes, years.

I am glad there's a new Wii on the horizon though, simply because (on the same telly as my Xbox) the Wii end up looking very ropey. Jaggies a-plenty as they say. It's probably the way my 1080P TV renders the image but it's not that nice to look at. It looked a lot better on my old CRT set.

[jdanddiet]

From what I've seen of gaming in Greece (and buying games) no-one buys originals anyway lol

[retrosofer]

I have heard that the PSV hasn't been snapped up like nuggets of gold, but isn't one of the reasons down to the stupidly expensive prioritory storage cards? I keep hearing people complain about this, and is why they are holding off, which i can understand when you can get far better off of amazon for a mere blip of the price of these prioritory ones Sony is squeazing customers for. I'd like a PSV but, way to much at the moment when you factor everything in to get with a system, and i'd rather hold off and save for the WiiU, at the moment i'd like a DS XL tbh.

Its funny because i'd say i'm good with the 360 for another 4-5 years to, i really dont think graphics are the be-all and end-all for console gaming as they once was, i think people want their games to look great, but they dont have to be cutting-edge any more, at least not for me anymore. So i'd be ok with 360 for another 5 years at least as i think its fine for another long run before we see another next gen system But having said that im done with Microsoft, the 360 has been great and im still enjoying games on it, but post kinnect MS have gone off the rails and they have made me tire of them and their system altogether really, which is why i'm looking forward to the WiiU. I want a WiiU not for next gen gfx, as has always been the case when getting a new system, but because i want to experience new types of games on a new system other than Microsoft's, i'm ready for a change in other words, but not because i want better gfx.

It could well be that if things do worsen in Europe, it might be a good thing Nintendo getting their system out early rather than later, and MS and Sony might struggle if they leave it latter when Europe starts going to the wall. I think it is worth pointing out though that although they say on TV and in the papers that we are now back in a rececion, the truth is we have never been out of the rececion since it started in 08.

[Megamixer]

All this talk of recession and look how many consoles and games are still shifted. I mean we have this thread and yet look how many times the 'What games/consoles have you bought this week?' thread gets bumped up with new purchases on a daily basis. I think gamers in general have plenty of disposable income if this is anything to go by.

I know that may not be the full case but I'm still baffled when the recession is mentioned and stuff like ipads, iphones, consoles, HD tellys and brand-new games still fly off the shelves like people have money to burn

[DreamcastRIP]

... I'm still baffled when the recession is mentioned and stuff like ipads, iphones, consoles, HD tellys and brand-new games still fly off the shelves like people have money to burn

I touched on one likely reason for why that may be back in my second post in this thread.

[Matt_B]

It's all relative. The console market peaked in 2008 and has been in modest decline ever since; machines are still selling in big numbers overall, but when everyone's business forecasts are built around projected growth they're going to lose a lot of money compared to when they were operated in a much leaner fashion in previous years.

[retrosofer]

All this talk of recession and look how many consoles and games are still shifted. I mean we have this thread and yet look how many times the 'What games/consoles have you bought this week?' thread gets bumped up with new purchases on a daily basis. I think gamers in general have plenty of disposable income if this is anything to go by.

I know that may not be the full case but I'm still baffled when the recession is mentioned and stuff like ipads, iphones, consoles, HD tellys and brand-new games still fly off the shelves like people have money to burn

True enough, but look at how many developers and publishers have folded because of the rececion, i remember it being reported back in 08-09 that the general feeling, especially according to 'anylists ' that the gaming industry was rececion proof, yeah right, it got hit just like everywhere.

Alot of us gamers buy alot of games all the time this is very true, so you could say that its because most have such a disposable income. But how many of us wait until a game has gone way down in price because we cant afford to fork out the full price, and how many of us buy used games some ways down the line because some are cheaper than brand new? Also look at how some AAA game haven't really sold leading eventually to developer X getting closed, its not always a case of such and such game is bad, the rececion is having an effect, but it might not always seem so ever present.

[QuantumCrayons]

True enough, but look at how many developers and publishers have folded because of the rececion, i remember it being reported back in 08-09 that the general feeling, especially according to 'anylists ' that the gaming industry was rececion proof, yeah right, it got hit just like everywhere.

Most other industries cost-cut when in a recession, compared to the proportion of the games industry which continued to pump as much cash into a single title as before; it just so happened that the risks were much greater in such a time.

[DreamcastRIP]

... but look at how many developers and publishers have folded because of the rececion

There have been a multitude of reasons for why certain games developers and/or publishers have folded these past few years. To blame it all on the state of the UK/European/world economy is very wide of the mark. Simplistic/lazy thinking in the extreme.

[Ferret Oxide]

Other computers and consoles have launched during a recession and still been a relative success.

According to Wikipedia (so take a large pinch of sodium nitrate for this), there have been four recessions in the UK since the videogame market really began. They are:

1980-1982
1990-1992
2008-2009
2011-2012

Remember that those figures are skewed by the requirement of two months' consecutive decline to enter a recession, so things can start to go bad before the official date (e.g. Northern Rock's problems and the Credit Crunch began in 2007).

So a recession alone (even "the worst in living memory") is unlikely to be responsible.

[DreamcastRIP]

Insofar as the USA goes these two instances spring to mind,

* The North American video games console industry crash of 1983/84
- the USA economy, afaik, went through some real choppy waters during this time (morons will of course put all the blame on Atari still)

* Sega Genesis
- launched in North America during the back end of 1989 when the economic boom of the mid-to-late '80s was coming to a crashing halt, the Genesis represented a great value for money proposition


Then there's the UK,

* Sinclair ZX Spectrum
- launched at a then superb value for money price during a very severe economic recession the Speccy proved an instant hit relative to the by far more expensive Commodore 64, BBC Micro and Atari 8-bits

[Freestyler]

Too much hardware choice + too many games + people cutting budgets + lack of any risk-taking creativity = Where we are now.

Loads of samey games available for far too many systems, at a time when everyone is feeling the pinch is having an effect. Plus Publishers are doing more and more to fleece their customers with horrible micro-transactions for everything imaginable. No wonder I'm having infrequent thoughts about just abandoning the whole thing altogether and just going full-on Retro PC.

Meh.

[samhain81]

Its completely understandable that in a time of economic decline, developers are staying close to familiar territories with their software. I mean seriously, who would invest millions into a potentially severe risk of a new IP, when they can just take more from the teet of Assassins Creed, Gears of War, Halo, etc.. Its just logic. Don't sit there and tell me that you would do something different.

Yes, many developers have gambled, as well as publishers, and in some instances, it has paid off, but more often that not it hasnt, despite the game being good. These people I have great respect for in these times, but like I said, I have nothing against them staying to know, as at the end of the day, should a new IP fail for a certain developer, that studio could potentially shut down, thus possibly leaving hundreds of people out of work.

DLC milking on the other hand, is a totally different kettle o fish

[DreamcastRIP]

Its completely understandable that in a time of economic decline, developers are staying close to familiar territories with their software. I mean seriously, who would invest millions into a potentially severe risk of a new IP, when they can just take more from the teet of Assassins Creed, Gears of War, Halo, etc.. Its just logic. Don't sit there and tell me that you would do something different.

I'd say this 'play it safe' approach has less to do with the economic downturn and one heck of a lot more to do with the phenomenally high production and marketing costs of PS360 games.

[DreamcastRIP]

Some interesting info' in this new article appearing on Eurogamer,

* "The 3DS has sold nearly 950,000 after 61 weeks on sale in the UK... It expects the console to pass through the one million sales mark next month. If it does, it will have taken around three months longer than the DS did to reach one million in the UK. The DS hit one million after 51 weeks on sale. Chart-Track chief Dorian Bloch said the difference in price between the two consoles was one of the reasons behind the 3DS' slower sales."
- That's in comparison to DS, not DS Lite, remember . The handheld that didn't sell well until DS Lite arrived.


* "Globally, the 3DS is Nintendo's fastest-selling console ever."
- It'd be interesting to know for why 3DS is selling so well in certain other parts of the world relative to the UK.


* "... PlayStation Vita... has just passed 100,000 units sold in the UK... That figure was achieved 10 weeks after going on sale. It's also less than a third of the sales the PlayStation Portable managed 10 weeks after it went on sale in the UK."
- Not good, Sony!


* "Worldwide PlayStation Vita sales were 1.8 million at the end of March 2012. Sony boss Kaz Hirai described the tally as "a good start"."
- Well, he's got to say that really!


Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012- ... edecessors