Here’s a quick update on what is going on in the world of the gaming industry at the moment. It’s been a rocky few months for all businesses great and small, and industries worldwide.  I just thought I’d let you know what’s going down with each business that’s under that beautiful gaming umbrella that we love so much. Well, to get more metaphorically explicit, the umbrella that keeps off the black rain of the economy which seems to be drowing everyone at the moment. We all need some escapism right?

• Sad news to start off, Gamesindustry.biz have done a survey regarding the economical concerns, and I am extremely disappointed to say that things do not bode well for the videogame business. Not only this, it showed how negative people were feeling about it – over 60% of people were not only  concerned about the current climate, but feel that things are going to get worse. For the full article please click here.
• Microsoft shares have hit an 11 year low and with predictions from CEO Steve Ballmer that things are going to continue to weaken, with stocks dropping to almost half their original value.
• Nintendo, during these tough times, have made a decision to partner with EIF, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival which is taking place later this year (August 10-16). General manager of Nintendo UK David Yarnton expressed the excitement of the company to once again be taking part in the festival. EIF are also excited; they feel that the addition of the Japanese gaming giant will “add another dimension” to the convention.
• But the future doesn’t always look as bleak as it seems with 20 million people signing up for the Playstation Network as of February 20th 2009. This comes after the service has been live for over 2 years, but the boost will certainly be of great comfort to Sony after the rather dire time they had last year. Furthermore, they are planning to make a price cut on the PS3 in the next few days, according to Janco Partners, by around $100.

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