The United States government has been shut down for two weeks thusfar. We have a ton of people out of work and there is the huge possibility that our economy, while was not that strong yet from the last recession, may hit recession again. What could this mean for the gaming industry?
With so many out of work due to furloughs and the holiday season readily upon us, one does have to wonder how holiday sales will be affected. The local air force base here in Oklahoma City, Tinker, has had to furlough nearly 3,000 civilian workers in the light of the government shutdown. While that number is only a small part of the overall U.S. population, this is only one military base out of thousands across the United States that has had to furlough their workers. Plus, there are more than just these workers that have been furloughed.
This holiday season will see the launches of the next generation of consoles. Granted some of these gamers may have pre-ordered their systems already, but those who have to recover from the days of being out of work may not be able to buy all that they want during the holiday season. Budgets for such shopping may have already been slashed to bits as people prepare for the worst.
While the numbers are not officially out on how the shutdown will affect the gaming industry yet, the possibility of it making the holiday shopping season worse will continue to rise the longer the shutdown occurs. What do you think the shutdown’s effect on the gaming industry will be?
(This article is my opinion based on what I have observed of the shutdown and with talks with employees that have been furloughed at Tinker Air Force Base.)
Published: Oct 12, 2013 03:33 am