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As other industries collapse, sales of video games are racing away. Global sales of console hardware and games software are expected to hit a record $49.9 billion this year, says Screen Digest, a consulting firm (see chart). Games sales in America in October totalled $697m, 35% more than a year earlier, according to NPD, a market-research firm. It is often said that video games are recession-proof. Are they really? Video gaming is isolated from the wider economic cycle by having a cycle of its own. Every few years a new crop of consoles is launched, spurring a wave of sales as gamers upgrade. The industry has another layer of recession-proofing in that its biggest-spending customers are typically young men (the average gamer is around 30) with high disposable incomes who regard gaming as an important part of their lives, rather than a form of discretionary spending an extra reason: it offers a relatively cheap form of entertainment that can be consumed at home. |
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