Cautious industry looks to recovery in 2010

Videogame professionals are expecting 2010 to be a more positive year for the industry than the last 12 months, but they still remain cautious of the fragile economy.

That's according to findings from a recent survey conducted by GamesIndustry.biz, which showed that 55.7 per cent of respondents were concerned about the health of the games industry this year.

However, 54.7 per cent of those surveyed expect the economic health of the industry to improve in 2010, while 25 per cent expect it to stay the same as last year.

2009 was a bleak year for many sectors of the industry, with multiple lay-offs and closures in publishing and development, while sales of boxed goods were down 18 per cent in the UK, and 8 per cent in the US.

According to the survey, 2010 will continue to see a slow down on the High Street, with 45.8 per cent of respondents expecting traditional sales to be the worst hit sector of the games business, followed by packaged media distribution (21.4%) and independent game development (12.2%).

Digital distribution and online retail are expected to continue to be growth areas going forward, with 58 per cent and 19.1 per cent, respectively.

The full survey results follow:

Are you concerned about the economic health of the games industry?

• Yes: 55.7%
• No: 40.2%
• Don't know: 4.1%

Do you think the economic health of the industry will get better or worse in 2010?

• Better: 54.7%
• Stay the same: 25%
• Worse: 14.5%
• Don't know: 5.8%

Which sector of the industry do you expect to decline in 2010?

• High Street retail: 45.8%
• Packaged media distribution: 21.4%
• Independent development: 12.2%
• Publishing: 9.3%
• Media: 5.5%
• Outsourcing: 4.6%
• Digital distribution: 0.6%
• Online retail: 0.6%

Which sector of the industry do you expect to grow in 2010?

• Digital distribution: 58%
• Online retail: 19.1%
• Independent development: 13.9%
• Outsourcing: 6.4%
• High Street retail: 1.2%
• Publishing: 1.2%
• Media: 0.3%