Game sales beating credit crisis – PS3, Xbox 360, Wii value for money

The Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii are all capable of providing hours of entertainment at home for people of all ages. But buying one of the consoles, and then keeping the games coming in to the house, is still seen as quite an expensive hobby, especially being with the prices still high this early in the generation.

The last year has been an incredible year for gaming, with three strong home consoles on the market, all with different strengths and weaknesses, and all with a broad range of fans. Meanwhile, the economies of the world have been in free-fall, with a recession on the way or already begun, and a global credit crisis affecting millions. So how has the games industry managed to beat the dour predictions of everyone ceasing to spend money on luxuries?

What a lot of families now seem to be realising is that while buying a games console for the family may be an expensive one-off purchase, over the next few years, it could pay for itself many times over. Sure, you have to then buy games for the machine, some of which can be expensive purchase in their own right, but when a game can provide weeks of entertainment for a family, it actually works out quite cheap.

The Game Group, the biggest games retailer in the UK, has reported record profits, and sales for the first six months of the year to be very healthy. Retailers and games publishers in other countries are also reporting similar results, meaning 2008 is looking set to be a bumper year for games and the industry as a whole.

Meanwhile, as The Telegraph points out, other forms of entertainment seem to be losing out as people tighten the belts for the forthcoming economic downturn. Cinema attendances in the UK are reportedly heading for an eight-year low, despite long-awaited films such as Indiana Jones, Sex and The City, and the new Narnia movie all helping to keep box-office tills ringing.

The biggest-selling games this year have so far been Grand Theft Auto IV, Wii Fit, Mario Kart and Metal Gear Solid IV, all of which have sold in incredibly healthy numbers despite the so-called lack of spare cash in people’s pockets.

This is all good for the games industry as it means that it no longer relies on the state of the economy to remain healthy and buoyant. Now that people are starting to realise that games consoles can be a family activity, and replace the need for expensive trips to the cinema, theme parks, and restaurants, the future of gaming is assured long-term despite how badly our governments may mess the economy up.

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