The recession. The title of the tune is Fukeiki nante buttobase! — which means something like "What a recession we're heading towards!" or it could even be localized into "What a fucking recession!" or "Kick the shit out of the recession!" Fitting.

According to the Craigslist poster (and if it gets flagged and removed, you may read it here and here) the "patient and nonjudgmental coach" will give you 90 minutes of Tetris fundamentals for $30, half of which will be spent watching him play. However, you will have "gained the confidence to play Tetris by yourself or against friends, strangers, and family members."

If you're an advanced student, or feel like delving a little more deeply into Tetris theory, he offers a two-hour "Intermediate Tetris" for $40 to $55. This involves all of the above modules but includes getting liquored up. The advertisement said the fee includes "provision of batteries" (so I assume this is on a GameBoy?) and "light refreshments," so I guess the booze is on him.

I'm now considering one upping this guy and offering a Madden 09 fantasy camp - creating my clients as players in the NFL and then guiding them through a few frivolous exhibition games against other fantasy camp players. Or maybe opening an "open-world crime getaway driving school." We've gotta make money somehow, it's not like the man is getting around to hiring lots of people any time soon.

Tetris Lessons Offered at Affordable Rates [Craigslist]

According to Games Investor Consulting director Nick Gibson "In the last four or five months there has been a collapse in venture capital and, more broadly, private equity funding for privately-held games companies". These aren't the big, publicly-owned companies like Activision or EA we're talking about. These are the new guys, the small guys, the ones that rely on big cash investments to get up and running.

Gibson says things are so bad for the little guys that, according to Gibson's research, "private funding for games companies" is down a whopping 60% from the same time last year.

So if you've got a great idea for a new game, and you and your buddies want some cash to get things started, you might want to hold off for a year or two. That or start saving.

Funds and Games [Develop]

Their newest game, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, hit the PC last November and the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports are due out this May. But as decent as the game's been doing so far, that four year development cycle apparently murderized the company's finances.

Here's the statement posted to the developer's official site:

On Tuesday 14th April 2009, Ascaron Entertainment GmbH, Germany, went into administration at the regional court in Bielefeld, Germany.

Due to the protection offered by German administration rights, Ascaron intends to use this as an opportunity to secure the future of the company.

We, the executives of Ascaron Entertainment GmbH, thank all our fans for their superb support and assistance in making Sacred 2: Fallen Angel the success it is today.

Our special thanks go to all our employees. Without the dedication and motivation of all the staff Sacred 2 would not exist. We are also proud to announce that development of Sacred 2 on Playstation3 and Xbox 360 is now complete. Sacred 2 will be available on both formats in May 2009. We would like to wish all console gamers a fantastic fantasy experience with Sacred 2.

The server and services of Sacred 2 multiplayer and the Securom game activation are unaffected and will continue as usual. Please see the press announcement below for more information. Further updates will be provided in due course.

With kind regards,
Heiko tom Felde
Ascaron Entertainment

Sacred 2 developer bankrupt [GameSpot]

Polling a sample group of around 10,000 consumers, 65% of respondants said that in 2009, rather than cutting back, they'd be spending at least the same, and in many cases more, than they did on games in 2008.

I'd love to see this trend continued to its logical conclusion, and that in times of real national emergency, Americans are found to be hoarding food, water, fuel and Wii party games.

NPD: Gamers to Maintain Spending Levels in 2009 [Edge]

Well, yes, we did, but his exclamations were for a good reason. See, he pointed us towards I-Way. Which is, quite frankly, almost too extravagant to believe it actually exists.

But exist it does. Located in Lyon, France, I-Way opened last year and boasts 18 "simulators", which is a rather demure way of saying "real racing car with three surround screens and a freakin' hydraulic movement platform". There's even multiple types of car on offer: you and your fabulously wealthy mates can race I-Way's custom simulator "game" in one of six Formula 1, Rally or Endurance vehicles.

As New Kingdom say, though, Paradise Don't Come Cheap. One session in the F1 cars will cost you €90 (USD$120). The Rally and Endurance cars cost €75 (USD$100) & €60 (USD$80) respectively, while you can buy a package deal (where you race in all three) for €200 (USD$265).

What recession?

[I-Way]

Yes, Blockbuster, the 24-year-old chain that rents "more video games than any other company, store-based or online, in the nation," is in rather dire financial straits. It told the SEC that it may not be able to continue, given that it may not be able to meet the conditions of a $250 million loan that would help keep it afloat.

While things look grim for Blockbuster, there's a chance it could soldier on, something we'll know for sure mid-May. But hopes for the chain's video game rental by mail service to hit later this year sound iffy.

Blockbuster gets going concern notice: SEC filing [Reuters]

From next spring, the number of recruits has been cut to 280 new employees, which is 48 percent lower than last year. "The environment surrounding our company has changed so we will use more rigorous standards in selecting college students we will hire," a Sony spokesperson said.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sony is getting the best of the best. Consider it a game of attrition.

Here's the bad thing, though: Sony expect to show a ¥260 billion loss in the financial year ending Tuesday. The company has already announced a plan to slash 16,000 jobs.

Sony to reduce new recruits 48% to 280 for spring 2010 [Japan Today] [Pic]

The New York Times profiles some those ultra-hardcore gamers who made it their job—or "job," if you prefer—to play video games like Counter-Strike and Dead or Alive 4 better than 99.9% of the world's population, folks left without income after the closure of leagues like the Championship Gaming Series.

It's not all gloom and doom, though, as at least Major League Gaming is still thriving. And it's expected to turn a profit this year, according to league president and chief executive Matthew Bromberg.

Sure it's hard out there for a guy whose primary skill set involves aiming a mouse extremely well, but pro gaming hasn't quite yet given up the ghost.

Virtual Leagues Fold, Forcing Gamers to Find Actual Jobs [NY Times]

Fairly quick turnaround, as THQ announced in February that it was canning 24% of its workforce and yanking titles from its fiscal 2010 publishing slate. That translated to layoffs at Saints Row developer Volition and the sloughing off of Big Huge Games, Heavy Iron Studios and Incinerator Studios.

THQ president Brian Farrell seemed pleased with the corporate execution of goals.

"Our goal is to return to profitability and generate positive cash flow in fiscal 2010, and to position THQ for long-term sustainable and profitable growth," he said.

On the potentially more positive side, that growth could easily be achieved with THQ's plans for even more sequels to Red Faction and Darksiders. Let's hear it for progress!

Citing an internal memo they obtained from an Alienware employee, it's said that the group will be closing both of its dedicated manufacturing plants (in Miami and Ireland), with production to be shifted to parent company Dell's factories. These closures will be accompanied by layoffs, though Alienware - while confirming the closures - refuse to put a number on how many will be affected.

Since it's two entire facilities being closed down, it's probably "a lot".

Strangely, the move comes at the exact same time the company plans to expand its operations, with Alienware gaming computers expected to be released in 29 new markets across 17 new languages in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America over the next 12 months.

Alienware Plans Worldwide Expansion; Layoffs, Too [ExtremeTech, via Big Download]

Those who voluntarily retire between March 23 and April 3 will receive a special severance payment. Their retirement would commence on April 30.

This is the latest measure from Marvelous to curb costs. After this year's earning were down compared to last, the company reduced bonuses and cancelled large scale publicity events and overseas musical performances.

Marvelous Entertainment has released Harvest Moon titles and No More Heroes, among other titles.

マーベラス希望退職者募集を実施　固定費の圧縮を目指す [AnimeAnime via ANN] [Pic]

This means there'll be no wage increases over the next 12 months. For anyone, from the tea ladies all the way up to Sir Howard, and everyone (including the PlayStation folks) in between. Rank-and-file employee bonuses will also be cut by 33%, while managers will be faring even worse, seeing not only a 35-40% reduction in their bonus payments, but a 10-20% wage cut as well.

Not even the top brass will escape unscathed, with Nikkei reporting that "Executives will also be slugged with huge cuts to bonuses and salaries". Ah well. Remember, Sony, before things get better, you must suffer!

Sony to freeze wages for a year - Nikkei [Reuters]

In the most literal sense. The studio - which has helped on the Halo series & Left 4 Dead, and is the team behind Age of Booty - has only ever bought six computers. Their furniture is used, picked up cheap from a fellow game developer that went bust. And the 29-strong development team's sole piece of entertainment, a ping-pong table, belongs to CA President Max Hoberman. As in, he brought it in from home.

Sounds crazy, but it's a proven success. Late last year, after Age of Booty was complete and the team had finished their contract work on Left 4 Dead, there was no work. No work meant no money coming in, which for many businesses would mean, well, the end of business.

But Certain Affinity's frugal practices meant they had plenty of cash on hand to outlast the lean months, and with the studio now at work on a game for Activision, those 29 employees are still in a job when otherwise they would have found themselves out on the street.

Wonder how many other studios could/should implement similar practices?

Certain Affinity finds frugality, selectivity pay off [Statesman]

The impact of the cratering global economy on the game industry is not a bad thing necessarily says Riccitiello. It is a "blessing." Hard times means we'll see less "junk" on the store shelves.

"A lot of the riff-raff is going to go bankrupt," he said. "Our company was too big for the current economic environment," he also stated, "and it was probably slowing us down."

He also went on to talk how sequels can be innovative, the viability of PC gaming and outsourcing. More in the links below.

DICE 09: Electronic Arts' Tactics For Tough Times [Gamasutra]
EA CEO: Recession Is a 'Blessing' For Game Biz [Game|Life]
Live Blog: DICE 2009 - John Riccitiello, Electronic Arts [G4tv] [Pic]

N. Evan Van Zelfden, who has written for Reuters and the Economist, may be onto something when he says that game publishers routinely spend more than they make. But I wonder if his pitch toward the end of the article about scaling back games to fit the Depression-era nickelodeon model of Hollywood will encourage powerhouse publishers like EA to make more shovelware instead of quality gaming experiences?

Even more interesting, though, is his analysis of the blockbuster model in the video game industry:

The industry has long discussed going with this "Hollywood model," in which a few games/movies turn a profit, those hits more than covering the other losses. The analogy between the Hollywood blockbuster model and the games business falls apart, however, because of the huge difference in overhead costs. Electronic Arts steadily employs 7,400 developers. The industry standard is a $10,000 man-month, meaning the company burns through more than $74 million for development each month. The big Hollywood studios, by contrast, make movies by giving money to temporary production companies, which then hire temporary crews with one-project contracts. The temporary entity will make the film from start to finish. And once production is complete, the studio receives a finished product that it can distribute to theaters-without the continued overhead expenses that game publishers often face.

That could lead to more temp workers in the industry – more developers, artists, programmers and writers living the lives of vagrants QA testers, always waiting for the layoff sprees. It may be a better way to make games; but I don't know that it's a better way to employ workers.

If only the video game industry had labor unions…

Cheers for the tip, Frederic!

What's Killing the Video-Game Business? [Slate.com]

While at a trade show in Barcelona, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told Reuters, "Revenues in our industry, and in our company, will be affected by the economic conditions."

Will be? What was last January? A lark?

To be fair, those January announcements were based on forecasts. It sounds like Ballmer is softening the blow for when Microsoft finally announces its financial earnings. No further details from Ballmer on how exactly this affects the company's gaming division.

Microsoft sees sales impact from economy [Reuters via EDGE]

THQ announced plans to layoff approximately 600 employees, a staggering 24% of its total workforce, as part of a plan to cut costs by $220 million in its fiscal 2010. The publisher will also cut additional projects and intends to reduce sales, marketing and corporate expenses globally through headcount and other cost reductions.

The publisher laid off 100 employees from its mobile division last week. It previously announced plans to reduce headcount by 250 after a similarly disappointing previous quarter, shedding studios and canceling in-development games.

"This is one of the most challenging holiday retail environments I have experienced in my 18 years at THQ," said CEO Brian Farrell during a conference call, lamenting a tough retail situation. Farrell reminded analysts of the industry's growth in 2008, noting "clearly, we did not participate in that growth"

THQ saw net sales of $357.3 million for the quarter ending December 31, 2008, a drop from the $509.6 million it brought in from the quarter the year prior. It pointed to titles WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, Saints Row 2, Big Beach Sports and de Blob as product highlights.

THQ said it expects fourth quarter results to be significantly below its previous expectations.

Internet games, gambling and other forms of online entertainment have seen significant surges in use in the several months since the economic downturn deepened. Social-networking services like Facebook, blogs and discussion forums — all well-known time sinks even during good times — are also seeing strong growth. Some purveyors of online entertainment say business has never been so good for them.

I'm kind of sad that the example they use is someone who's resorted to Big Fish Games. I don't mind so much that they're only pointing to an increase in casual game consumption, but I think it'd be more of a statement for someone to turn to World of Warcraft in their jobless state.

Out of Office: Job Loss in the Age of Blogs and Twitter

The company will increase the number of jobs cut to 1,100, up from 1,000, or 11% of its total workforce. It expects approximately 75% of those layoffs to be completed by the end of March 2009. EA will also close more of its facilities than previously planned, announcing that the nine locations it previously planned to consolidated would increase to twelve.

Yes, that means you'll see more "Disturbance in the Workforce" posts for longer than expected.

The company will cut staff at all levels, according to EA execs, including "managers, directors, VPs and above" and put a freeze on raises. It will also cut 30% of its SKUS in 2010, expecting to publish 50 titles across 125 SKUS. The company published 145 SKUs in fiscal 2009.

It announced delays to upcoming marquee titles The Sims 3 and Dragon Age: Origins alongside its quarterly earnings results.

EA's total take for the holiday quarter was $1.74 billion, which was driven by sales of games like FIFA 09, Rock Band 2, Need for Speed Undercover, Rock Band, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, Madden NFL 09, Littlest Pet Shop, NBA Live 09 and Mirror’s Edge.

EA Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2009 Results [Yahoo!]