VC games investment plummets

The amount of money invested in the video games sector by venture capitalists in North America was down 29 per cent in 2010 according to a new data from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Boston.com reports that in 2008 money from venture capitalists funded the development of 35 games in North America, representing a total investment of $214m. The number of financed projects last year fell to 25, with expenditure dropping to $154m.

There’s been a transition in the VC market to a more conservative view, with the economic meltdown in the last 18 months,” former president of online games developer Turbine and Quick Hit founder Jeffrey Anderson stated.

It’s harder to find people who understand the business that you’re in. Therefore it makes it more difficult getting VCs to invest.”

Alex Finkelstein, a general partner at the Boston investment firm Spark Capital, added: We don’t want to invest in hits-driven businesses.”