Gaming or Motoring (or even Video). It’s a Harsh World Out There.

I have stated many times that I am not really a gamer these days. I have a PS4 with Project Cars and F1 2019 on it, with the obligatory Logitech steering wheel, pedals and seat, but this is more an homage to my past motor sport days than gaming per se.

I also have a few “old” games such as Doom, for when I might need 15 minutes of escapism.

But these days, I cannot get into the newer games as I just don’t have the attention span nor the will to learn a million and one commands to play them. Just look at the difference between the original Civilization and the current one and you’ll know what I mean. But I did use to play a lot of games with Myst being an old favourite along with Riven and 7th Guest.

Having said that, gaming is not that far removed from video / filmmaking in that you are taking part in storytelling, so I do keep a bit of an eye as to what is going on in that particular part of the tech industry.

And what I see is a very conflicted industry indeed.

On the one hand we have one segment telling us gaming is a multi-billion dollar environment, while on the other, gaming developers and studios are going bust or shutting shop seemingly daily.

Dedicated gaming magazines and websites – are there any left?

I know a few gaming journos, and they are very dedicated to their craft; some are more than dedicated and could even be called blindly passionate. But it seems the time of the gaming journo is past its use by date, and that is sad for them both financially and career wise of course.

But reality has to be faced. For example, I have heard it asked why such and such a gaming website or magazine was suddenly closed down when “it had a large and growing subscription base and was making money”?

Now, I cannot imagine any sane businessperson closing down a successful business, especially if it was making money and growing. That just does not make commercial sense in anyone’s eyes. Ergo, it was NOT making money and wasn’t a success, and the first casualties in these circumstances is always the staff.

With so many websites, magazines and developers shutting shop, the only real conclusion you can come to is that the gaming industry, as huge as it is purported to be, is just not a viable business opportunity anymore.

At least not if you aren’t someone like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo or EA etc who have the economies of scale to support the ups and downs.

As for websites and magazines; if there is no advertising, there is no publication, it is as simple as that, and this applies whether it be gaming, video, motoring or New Idea / Women’s Weekly.