The lockdowns stemming from the spread of the novel Coronavirus has many analysts foreseeing a stronger games industry when things return to normal. Countries across the globe have reported a surge in gaming activity as people are forced to stay indoors, for the most part. As a result, the games industry has seen a significant boost in sales but at least one developer thinks it’s too soon to celebrate.
Speaking to The Escapist, tinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik warned that the sales boost that video game companies are experiencing is only temporary because the pandemic will have far-reaching economic effects, which will inevitably result in people suffering from loss of income, financial uncertainty, and diminished purchasing power.
TinyBuild’s Hello Neighbor saw an increase in sales as well, reaching 1.7 million downloads last month, but Nichiporchik is of the view that this is all short term.
“We need to look a couple of months ahead when people will turn to more value-driven entertainment such as subscriptions, which is more predictable for a potentially limited family budget,” he told The Escapist. “It’s not smart to celebrate the short-term sales boost everyone in the industry is seeing, as we need to prepare for an economic downturn and figure out more value-driven entertainment.”
Nichiporchik has a point. In the United States alone, more than 6.6 million people reported losing their jobs a week ago, and an estimated 16 million jobs were lost in the last three weeks. Unemployment figures across Asia and Europe are equally grim, with more layoffs expected even after the lockdowns end.
It goes without saying that the real financial impact of the pandemic will be felt later this year.
[Source: The Escapist]
