Michael Pachter thinks core gamers have no clue that there’s a recession going on, and for that he is thankful.
Ignorance is bliss. With the world economy in turmoil and the previously “recession-proof” games industry feeling the crunch, the healh of the industry relies on one specific group of people: the consumers. Luckily for us, according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, a good portion of those consumers are so engrossed in the new Call of Duty game that they don’t seem to be aware that the dollar is crashing and burning.
“They may be wealthy, they may be poor, but [core gamers] have no clue we are in a recession,” Pacther told the Associated Press. Okay, maybe he doesn’t mean that literally, but, along with his estimate that core gamers are responsible for roughly half of all game purchases, he means to say that gamers will continue to buy games, even in the face of certain economic apocalypse.
Despite how explosive the success of the Wii and casual gaming may be, the fact that those consumers belong more to the general population means their buying habits are susceptible to the trends of the wider economy, some analysts have speculated. Casual gamers are more likely to cut back, while hardcore consumers will keep spending no matter what. “As long as hard-core gamers have a job, they will continue to buy games,” Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at IDC, said.
Retailers, then, are banking on hardcore gamers’ spending power, and pointing to the success of games like Call of Duty: World at War and Gears of War 2 as evidence of their unswaying buying habits. “If the core gamers and the avid gamers are with us through these very unpredictable times, that’s a very, very good sign for us,” R. Richard Fontaine, GameStop’s chairman, said during a conference call.
So, hardcore gamers – please stop reading the newspaper. You’ll be doing this industry a huge favor.
