Blizzard unaffected by recession

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 17th October 2008
Comments (15) Stumble
Blizzard unaffected by recession

World of Warcraft has netted Blizzard millions of monthly subscribers and left them financially stable.

Blizzard are managing to continue growing despite fears of a recession and are optimistic for the rest of the games industry. Not that we follow the news of the financial downturn all that much, of course - computer games have left us poor and ignorant after all.

Speaking to MTV, Blizzard's Rob Pardo explained that not only was Blizzard itself financially secure in the face of the coming credit crunch, but that the company was also confident for the rest of the games industry.

"Historically for us, the game industry hasn’t been affected by recessions like a lot of other businesses. I think the reason for that is [that] games really offer some of the best entertainment value on the market," said Pardo.

"People might not want to go out to the movies and spend $100 for a couple of hours and then go to a restaurant. You can go home and pay $15 a month for 100 hours of entertainment if you’re staying at home more — and I think that’s one of the reasons why you don’t see games really go in the same recession as the rest of the economy a lot of times."

Blizzard currently has in excess of 10 million subscribers to World of Warcraft alone, each of whom have to buy the game and pay a monthly fee. The company is also currently working on the massively anticipated Diablo 3 and has announced plans to split the equally exciting new Starcraft game into three separate titles.

Or, to put it another way, Blizzard = rich.

Have you had to curb back on your spending as a result of the credit crunch? Let us know in the forums.
Quote Arkanrais 17th October 2008, 10:16
with the cash blizzard rakes in with WoW, I bet they could pay off the $700Bn crisis.
Quote badders 17th October 2008, 10:45
Quote:
Originally Posted by article

Blizzard currently has in excess of 10 million World of Warcraft addicts, each of whom have to buy the game and pay a monthly fee.
(Fixd.)
Yeah, I wouldn't have thought the tobacco or heroin industries are feeling the pince either.
Quote Tris 17th October 2008, 10:49
i have read the "entertainment value" argument before, which is certainly true of some games (and i probably would put WoW in that category as an ex player who spent alot of time on it when i was at uni), but certainly the bulk of games cant claim the same. £10 a month for unlimited play is definately good value if your staying in alot, as with all the mmo's, but the console games etc where your paying £40 a pop and getting maybe 20 hours out of it (if you can be bothered to finish it)....not so much
I think the true sign of the credit crunch is retro gaming - i can't be alone in thinking to myself "well i could spend money on <insert new game here>, which sure looks pretty but is probably dull and uninspired...or i can dig out my deus ex cd's and give it another whirl"
Quote Nature 17th October 2008, 10:51
Blizzard and valve should unite.
Quote CardJoe 17th October 2008, 11:05
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
Blizzard and valve should unite.

Really: No.
Quote Horizon 17th October 2008, 11:07
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
Blizzard and valve should unite.

only in my nightmares
Quote airchie 17th October 2008, 11:14
Why should Blizzard and Valve unite?
Its better to have competition to drive innovation and give consumers better value. ;)

Also, I think the value argument does hold water.
£45 for a console game or usually £25 for all but the newest PC games should at least provide 20+ hours of entertainment.
Some provide much more like WoW, CoD4 etc.
I can't think of anything else in the entertainment genre that provides so many hours per £.
Cinema here costs £7.50 for a ticket for around 2 hours.
Eating out costs upwards of £25 per head at any place nicer than Burger King.

Worst-case scenario, a game provides around £2 per hour value and that's before you consider you can trade them in against new games etc. :)
Quote The Infamous Mr D 17th October 2008, 11:32
I would say it's rather blinkered thinking to assume they're immune to the effects of recession. Granted, their WoW subscriptions are raking in the big bucks for Blizzard now, but things can and often do change - the modern games industry hasn't really suffered through a major economic downturn like the one we're told to expect. It is still a relatively youthful industry, arguably no more than 20 years old. I can't help feeling that luxury spending on games and other leisure activities will be the first things to go when casual gamers are tightening their belts, especially given the extensive range of free MMORPGs available. I suppose, like most things, time will tell though.
Quote UrbanMarine 17th October 2008, 12:44
A FPS company merging with an RPG company lol never never never Value & Blizz should stay away from each other.
Quote Teq 17th October 2008, 13:52
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanMarine
A FPS company merging with an RPG company lol never never never Value & Blizz should stay away from each other.

If only development was that simple, I'm sure both companies would argue that they can do anything if they put their minds to it, but it would definitely be a sad day if we saw Valzard rear its ugly head/name :P
Quote Horizon 17th October 2008, 15:29
@Teq

the sad thing is that we already had a preview of it, Flagship Studios.
Quote dr-strangelove 17th October 2008, 17:39
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
Blizzard and valve should unite.

Then they would be swallowed up by EA, and I for one don't want to see FIFA: Azeroth edition
Quote Mentai 18th October 2008, 03:35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Horizon
@Teq

the sad thing is that we already had a preview of it, Flagship Studios.

Oh snap lol
Quote DXR_13KE 18th October 2008, 20:28
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
Blizzard and valve should unite.

hell not, that would open a rift in the time space fabric and suck us all in before the LHC starts working...
Quote PhenomRed 19th October 2008, 12:16
Is everyone forgetting the Activision - Blizzard merge?
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