So says Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian, and in the interest of providing a counter-point to the endless stream of "gaming is totally safe from the recession!" stories, let's hear what he's got to say.
We interpret this trend to suggest that the core market remains healthy, while more casual/mass market consumers are spending more cautiously or waiting to make purchases closer to the holidays.
What's that mean? Means people like you and me will keep on buying games, no sweat. But the kind of people snapping up Wii Fit, they'll hold off. Which has a knock-on effect! It means that retailers might hold off on buying games they think might not sell, and only buy games they know will sell. Madden, yes, Patapon, ehhh, maybe not. Analyst: In Poor Economy, Retailers React, Big Publishers Gain, Smaller Ones Lose [Gamasutra]