Industry experts reveal economy concern

The GamesIndustry.biz Network 2009 Survey of industry members has revealed that there is a real concern within the videogames business about the current state of the economy - and most people expect it to get worse.

When questioned as to whether or not they were concerned about the current situation, almost 70 per cent of the 300-plus people quizzed said that they were, with over 60 per cent believing that 2009 will see continued deterioration.

Under a quarter of people thought that things would get better, while the remaining 16 per cent didn't know what would happen.

Opinion was more sharply divided on whether or not the financial conditions would affect creativity adversely, with almost exactly half of respondents thinking that they would, while 42 per cent thought that it wouldn't/.

Meanwhile, a third of people felt that developers would be hardest hit in a recession, with retail following close behind on 29 per cent.

Publishing and media were thought to be generally less affected, on 13 per cent and 11 per cent respectively, while distribution was thought to be relatively safe with just 5.5 per cent of the vote.

The safest sector of the industry in the current climate, however, according to the survey results, was outsourcing, with only 5.2 per cent of people feeling that it would be hit the hardest.

In other parts of the survey, Network members picked Resident Evil 5, Killzone 2 and Street Fighter IV as the most anticipated titles of 2009, with Activision Blizzard and Nintendo expected to top the list of best-performing publishers across the year.

The full results are as follows:

Concerned about the current economy?

• Yes: 69.7%
• No: 30.3%

Will the economy get worse in 2009?

• Worse: 60.6%
• Better: 23.8%
• Not sure: 15.6%

Will recession negatively impact creativity in 2009?

• Yes: 49.7%
• No: 42.2%
• Not sure: 8.1%

Which sector of industry to be hit hardest?

• Developers: 33.1%
• Retail: 28.9%
• Publishing: 12.7%
• Media: 11%
• Distribution: 5.5%
• Outsourcing: 5.2%
• Other: 3.6%

GamesIndustry.biz would like to extend thanks to everybody who took part in the Network Survey.