Yeah they do. Especially if you're a union member, you'll get payd relatively well quite some time after losing your job. In the end, games are relatively cheap entertainment and people have a lot of free time in their hands.

they buy lotto tickets instead

As someone who is unemployed (so much for having a Masters degree in Information Systems), NO WAY do I buy a videogame system. I will look for deals on games, when the time is right, but not buying a new game system. I have time to play.

What needs to be understood is there is a strong chance that there will be a fundamental shift in the way the economy works. We are in unknown territory. Retailing isn't likely to be the same, and anyone who is banking on things being that, is setting themselves up for disappointment.

The word is "deleveraging" which means a LOT less borrowing. It also means contraction, and despecialization. A place like Gamestop could end up going under if trends continue. Process that a second, a world without Gamestop.

Will videogames disappear or PCs make a large comeback? I doubt it. But do expect contraction could happen. A maker like Sony could pull out, or even Microsoft. We just don't know.

Well in the UK i reckon significant amount of people can afford it, i know PS2's were so popular people in that demographic did have them, because of the benefits that are available, i think it is ridicilous but i bet people prefer to play GTA IV than watch Jeremy Kyle or Countdown while "looking for a job".

yep, a college friend of mine used some of his student loan to get his PS3.

but i think all markets in the US will be affected this year.

Yes. I do.

I'm not denying that unemployed people or people with huge unpaid overdue student loans buy consoles because they do, I just can't see the reasoning behind that. If you absolutely must entertain yourself you can get an awesome book for $1 if you look in the right places and they last as long or longer than games.

Things like that confuse me just as much as people that bitch about not having money yet they smoke.

Chicken or the egg problem.

Don't forget all the people that got fired because they played video or computer games all night and then overslept for work.

ksv said: Chicken or the egg problem. Don't forget all the people that got fired because they played video or computer games all night and then overslept for work.

Those people just weren't creative.

When I worked IT I would go in the back room to "build computers."  What I was really doing was improving my minesweeper skills and sleeping after 15 minutes of work.

@Twesterm: Well the students would drink their money anyway. So it's more fun for the same money.