| VideoGameAccountant said: Interesting to read everyone's predictions. I think the folks saying 12-13M are about right with the recession in 2023 coming. Funny I've been saying that for a while, so surprised to see other people say it. |
If the recession is tied to a crash then I'd be more inclined to agree. If it's just a recession, unless it goes on for a year or two (in which case sales will slow), I don't think sales will be any less than last year.
Some thought during covid we'd see extremely weak sales which wasn't the case. Not that they were record breaking either, but people won't just sit around and do nothing, even if they aren't getting a government check here and there. They'll find something cheaper and do that instead. A console and an online game or two, or a sub, is a relatively cheap way to keep yourself entertained for years if you're just looking to hold out as a casual until things get back on track.
If I had to guess, if we see the rumored PS5 (Slim) this holiday, it'll be no more than $399 (and $50-$100 more for the disc drive add on). Might even be $349 if Sony is seeing a long enough recession coming. PS hardware sales are good but software is a bit lacking. The way to fix that is get the hardware manufacturing cost down as much as possible and subsidize it a bit if need be. Then people will buy more games and it'll be worth it, especially in a recession.
