Charting the video game industry's resilience in the face of so much uncertainty

gamesindustry.biz:

Sam Naji

Monday 27th June 2022

These are troubling times. The UK economy is on the brink of a recession. We have an energy crisis and stubbornly high inflation of 9% (with forecast of peak 11%), which the Bank of England is trying to cool with higher interest rates. This, along with geopolitical uncertainty, is helping to slow the economy.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the UK's statistical agency, GDP fell by 0.3% in April 2022, after a decline of 0.1% in March 2022. Two consecutive quarters of decline in GDP signifies a recession. We may already be there as GDP is a backward-looking indicator.

Forward-looking indicators aren't encouraging either. Consumer confidence has weakened over the last few months as concerns rise over the cost of living. Weakening confidence also reflects an expected increase in interest rates which will adversely impact disposable income going forward. Constrained consumer demand can also be seen in slowing business activity.

Sam Naji, SJN Insights

For many, video games can be the perfect route for escapism from all this dreary economic news, albeit for fleeting moments. Given how everything is getting more expensive, video games are beginning to look like a great bargain, especially if they offer hundreds of hours of entertainment for the price of a family trip to the cinema. Recently, however, there has been some worrying comments from the games media -- including articles from this very website -- that the impact of the pandemic during 2019-2021 has taken its toll on game releases.

You only must glance at the number of titles released this year, compared to previous years, to get a feeling that momentum in game sales has slowed down. On SIFTD's excellent channel, GameFace, Shane