Pachter: recession won’t affect video game industry much

Despite the woes that are plaguing the world markets, the video game industry is “likely to weather a recession quite well.” This is according to everyone’s favorite analyst, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter. Unlike other forms of entertainment, video gaming is one of the least likely to be affected by a recession, according to Pachter.

More prophecies in the full article.

Despite the woes that are plaguing the world markets, the video game industry is “likely to weather a recession quite well.” This is according to everyone’s favorite analyst, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter.

Pachter says that during a recession, people would actually spend more time in leisure and entertainment activity. Only, people would shift from expensive forms of entertainment to cheap ones. Which is only logical, really.

Following that line of thinking, Pachter continues saying that video gaming is one of the cheapest forms of entertainment, especially if you already have a console in your home. And besides, a recession won’t stop the extremely hardcore from buying a game. Pachter even says that:

We believe that some portion of console households may be lower income […] but believe that even these households are likely to continue purchasing software, as they most likely contain a self-indulgent, hardcore gamer.

… “self-indulgent, hardcore gamer”? … He confuses me. Is he for gamers or against them? Anyway, he had a lot to say about video gaming and recessions, but when it comes right down to it, he believes that the video game industry won’t suffer much:

We end up concluding that video games are about as susceptible to a recession as the average of all consumer purchases, so we expect a ‘haircut’ of 5 percent this holiday.

• Video game industry growth beats U.S. economy four to one

Via Gamasutra