I work in the tooling industry.
We are currently down 33% Year over Year.

Our competitors aren't faring any better.

With that I've noticed several recessions within the electronics industry as well as several other fields and it is downright terrifying what is going on. Foreclosures, layoffs etc.

I would guess that most posters here are in their late teens and early twenties which put you at the point of college, and you are most likely feeling the sting of the student loans as well.

With all of that, it is apparent that one industry seems to have not been hit yet, and that is videogames. The reason most commonly associated with the current trend is that people are spending more times at home rather then going out... so $50 on a game rather then $50 out onthe town will at least give you something that will last a few days, or give you something you can entertain yourself with friends.

With all that being said, from what I've been noticing I think the bottom may very well fall from under our fun hobby. Japanese sales alone are reason enough to worry and almost a dire premonition of things to come for the rest of the world.

It IS as bad as it looks.

So in this all out struggle to stay afloat... what are your thoughts regarding videogames and the recession?

Recession proof? Or are we going into a tailspin?

Wow! What a depressing topic.

Videogames deserve it imo. I say that only because they have become wayyyy to expensive with this generation. Heck, I haven't brought a new game since okami purely because of the price. If the industry fails like it did back in 77' and 83' it will recover anyways and hopefully prices will go back to sensible levels. Death to VG's I say. A huge drop/fail/crash/downturn etc is the only way I see prices going lower.

Nothing is entirely recession proof but the video game market is doing a hell a lot better than most markets right now.

Good to go back and look at the Crash of the Early 1980s, to see what may happen here. You can also go back to the Depression to see how things hold up. I believe a LOT of things are in place to limit the chance of another videogame crash, but nothing is guaranteed at all.

However, if people don't have funds, they can't buy. In the case of myself, money is VERY tight. I would pick up Call of Duty: World at War and Street Fighter 4, and get $25 off at Toys R Us, but I am job hunting and can't do it. $30 for retro Genesis pack was it for me for awhile. I do have enough to play through, particularly stuff I got over the Holidays. The Genesis collection could keep me busy a long while, with the RPGs in it. Yes, old JRPGs, on the Genesis. Shining Series and Phantasy Star.

Wait I was wrong.... Alcohol industry is recession proof. If anything people drink more during recessions.

It is mood altering to cover up one being depressed.  Entertainment industry fits into this also.

There is already an impact from the credit crunch. It's harder to come up with funds to start up risky development projects. This could hamper creativity in the industry.

Regarding direct impact on sales, I believe we'll start to see negative impact towards the end of this year or in 2010. People may start pirating more, or buying more used games. Also, people will start waiting longer for games to come down in price which will hurt retailer and then publisher revenues. People will still cough up $60 for the next GTHaloOfWar, but smaller games will suffer.

If all the platforms required PS360 levels of budgets to make games, I could see a hard crash in the industry. As it stands we'll probably have a soft crash, with tons more takeovers of smaller publishers and some more bankruptcies.

Yea, you are right that the entertainment industry is usually the last to suffer during a recession.  If I remember correctly during the Great Depression the movie industry did pretty well since everyone was going to movies to escape reality.

The sheer size of Japan's recession will ensure that it affects the videogames industry. GDP in Japan was down 4.6 per cent over the year to the December quarter, which is nothing short of remarkable.

Even if consumers show a willingness to purchase videogames, the contraction in credit and it's general availability will ensure that producers will struggle over the next few years - particularly given the long-term nature of many videogame projects.

Recession vs videogames: Seems a pretty even battle.

Games are selling more than ever and developers are losing more money than ever.

Is the v.games industry recession proof?

Staff being laid off and companies in the industry losing money doesn't seem that recession proof to me, but what do I know?