To be technical, the USA is not quite in a recession yet. However, many indicators show it a time of economic down turn, even if it does not technically fit the definition of a recession. What’s the most important question during these tough economic times? How will this affect video game sales?

The short answer, at least from those within the industry, is very little. They believe the game industry to be equivalent to the film industry, which traditionally suffers very little during bad economic times. Chalk this up to people wanting to be entertained during even the roughest economic situations in order to forget their problems. People flocked to theatres during the Great Depression for this very reason.

However, do games really equal movies? A movie ticket may cost you $10, while a game will easily run you $20 at the cheapest, but more likely $50-60 for a new release. Of course, the counter argument is that games can offer many more hours of entertainment than the general two movies offer. However, Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight, thinks this is a bit of a short sighted view. He said

Are the people who bought an Xbox 360 going to go out and buy more and more and more software to go on this thing? There are limits. You might buy five games or 10 games, but you’re not going to buy 100.

While most gamers wouldn’t buy 100 games even in good economic times, his point is well taken. Yes, games may continue to sell, but how many? It isn’t like tomorrow the store shelves will be flush with unwanted titles, but any dip in sales could lead to the cancelling of otherwise risky development projects. In other words, you’ll still see Madden, but you might not see something more original Electronic Arts was planning to take a risk on.

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2. Awards season and does it really matter for games
3. EA Sports has eight titles headed for Wii
4. Game sales up 40% in February over last year despite sluggish economy
5. NPD sales data for month of January

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