Recently, a friend of mine asked me whether I had made the right decision by quitting my job during these turbulent times. Wasn’t I taking a big risk with the whole financial crisis and economical slowdown? Well, if I’m honest, none of it ever came to play in my decision. I have no credit issues and no huge investments so I won’t be affected directly. Indirectly, we’re in for a downturn, possibly a major downturn, but the games market is not going to somehow disappear. As long as good games continue to sell, my only major concern is make great games. Hell, some people believe that a recession is the best time to start a company.
It might actually be the best the time to go indie. Given recent job cut announcements at various publishers (EA, THQ) and developers (Avalanche Studios, Wild Tangent), I’m not even sure if there isn’t more risk holding a job at a major games publisher than being self-employed. I certainly wouldn’t feel any safer.
As a side note, it’s becoming quite tiring to read about EA cutting costs and trimming fat. Every year they go through the same ritual and it’s getting ridiculous (600 people in October 2008, 150-man studio in October 2007, 300+ people in February 2006, 60 people in February 2005). EA has improved quite a bit under John Riccitiello’s helm, but they continue to ignore major issues. If you want to trim the fat, you should start with the major mid-managerial bloat that seems to pervade the company (just take a look at the comment thread on this article).
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