Despite the economic downturn, the gaming industry says it is still going strong THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE may look bleak, but the gaming industry says it is showing strong growth. Exhibitors at the recent rAge gaming expo in Johannesburg said they weren`t seeing any downturn yet, although an increase in the sale of budget games could be an indication of a more price-conscious gaming public.

Clive Jandrell, CEO of Megarom, said the gaming industry in SA has not been suffering. While there are concerns that the price of games may go up, Jandrell says sales of games costing R199 or less have "grown dramatically".

The recent appointment of Megarom as the sole distributor of Activision games has given the company access to the back catalogues and Jandrell says this allows them to make older triple-A games available at lower prices, thus aiming for the new gamer market.

According to Gfk figures, sales during July 2008 are not much different to sales at the same time last year. In fact, the Christmas spike for game sales in 2006/7 reached 295 000 units, growing to 580 000 units in the 2007/8 holiday season.

The gaming industry hopes this year will see even stronger growth, as a rising cost of living drives people back home to home entertainment.

Also aiming for new gamers and this year`s Christmas boom, is Microsoft. The company recently lowered the prices of its Xbox series, with the consoles dropping below the R2 000 mark.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE GAMER

Marc Batten, head of entertainment and devices for Microsoft South Africa, says a lucrative market for gaming is the "tween" sector, and with lower prices of games and consoles, the demographics of the average gamer are changing.

Jandrell adds that in the UK, there huge growth in the so-called "casual gamer" group, indicating gaming is becoming more mainstream.

For example, the Nintendo Wii console has helped gaming reach the "atypical gamer", such as younger groups and women.

ON THE MOVE

Another technology helping gaming reach everyone is mobile gaming. Colin Becker, manning the MTN Loaded stall at rAge, said mobile gaming is taking off in a big way in SA because of the high mobile handset penetration in this country, as well as advancing mobile phone technology.

"There are some really good games out there, that are widely supported," he says. He says mobile gaming is still in its infancy. "It is growing, but has not reached its potential yet," he remarks.

STAYING IN OR GOING OUT?

With the current economy, Jandrell says many people find it is cost-effective to stay in and game instead of going out and that the risks of city living mean parents prefer their children to stay home and game with friends rather than go out at night. This view is echoed by Batten. There is a big uptake in the gaming industry as more people stay at home in their free time, he says.

Cindy Vorbiov, manning the BT Games stall at rAge also believes the economy is only helping game sales. "It`s cheaper to buy one game that lasts you a few months, than to go out every weekend."

Athlone van Sittert at the Steelseries stall explained that gamers are becoming more frugal with their gaming equipment. He says people use their equipment for longer before they replace it. "And some gamers download a game to try it out before buying it," rather than buying it before knowing what it`s like, he explains.

While some gamers iWeek interviewed at rAge admitted to the occasional download, most of them said they spent more money on gaming than any other form of entertainment.