Gaming market to remain unaffected by recession

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 05 June 2009, 15:12 IST
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Bangalore: Though the people in the U.S. have tightened up their expenses, they may spend on the interactive and entertaining video games, says Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick. The Video games, even those that cost more than $50, are likely to report significant sales in coming months as consumers go for cheap entertainment instead of taking vacations or buying big ticket items, Zelnick said at the E3 video game conference in Los Angeles. Take-Two, known for its violent "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, kept a low profile at E3, by hosting only private meetings and an analyst gathering, avoiding the flashy showcases of rivals such as Electronic Arts and France's UbiSoft. According to Zelnick, certain forms of entertainment, particularly movies and video games, tend to boom during tough times, as consumers stay close to home. Many games deliver more than 20 hours of play-time, making them a bargain. At the meetings, it showed off upcoming titles including "BioShock 2" and a new version of the sports game "The Bigs", as well as "Agent," which are being developed by the creators of "Grand Theft Auto". "The financial markets are turning around, but it's not clear that the consumer economy is turning," he said from the floor of the gaming convention. "The consumer is not going to show up for another 9-10 months minimally, because we are still seeing meaningful unemployment rolls. People hold their own for a few months after they lose their jobs, but then eventually they have to stop spending, and their psychology changes," said Zelnick. According to him, the gaming industry is well positioned in spite of the consumers having a hard time.