And Blizzard, they're making more money than ever before.

The studio I work for scooped up some of the better folks from one of those studios -- most of the folks who got laid off will find jobs fairly easily.

Its not always a bad thing, when a poorly organized, or otherwise failing studio, is closed down.  I can pretty much guarantee that the people we picked up are better off now, and much happier, than they were at their former workplace.

This just proves my personal opinion that the gaming industry is going following the path of suicide (my opinion don't flame meh).

At the rate things are going there will only be a few independent video game studios left. Take EA for example and how they continue to by out other studios, or Atari and the problems they have been having...or the Blizzard Activision merger...or how about the whole take-two EA thing...not to mention all the problems japan is having...

I'm sad to see Paradigm go, I still love Pilotwings 64.

This is why I question myself if I should go on studying gamedesign. Not only this though also the fact that most game designers have to make games they really don't want to and I might be more interested in concept art (but I feel that is even far more uncertain to get you a job, especially in the Netherlands).

that sucks, i'm not overly familiar with THQ but i'm loving de blob and moderately excited about deadly creatures. i was really started to like THQ so i hope they stick around a while longer. :(

Ouch. EA seems to also be doing quite well, capcom, ubi, ninty, and activision seem to all be holding up quite fine.

I hate to break it to ya, but game designers don't generally get hired from outside the industry (they get promoted from Test/QA), unless its a pretty low key development studio.  Art and Engineering, yeah, new hires from outside all the time.  Designers... not so much.  The industry's best designers almost universally started as engineers, actually -- but there are a lot of assistant and up-and-coming folks who started in the test depts.

Is that a little mistake on your part??? (wanting to say EA is also not doing to well) I just read somewhere Ea might just be bought by Disney, because business isn't going to well.

My study is being called gamedesign which actually just means studying game engineering. I do not mean someone who actually makes up the game.