Market slump or market triumph?

It certainly caused some debate amongst the MCV team before words hit the page.

We all used to say that if the industry released more games in Q1 the market would benefit.

Accidental timing has let us put the theory to test; some of the big Q1 games this year were actually meant to be last year’s big Q4 games.

And I’d say we’ve come out of it pretty well.

The High Street may not be immune to the credit crunch, bad weather, digital distribution, or whatever the next scapegoat is. But it has certainly shown its ability to stay strong in the face of them.

And from a publisher’s point of view a ‘300m in Q1′ headline really tells just part of the story.

At least half of the key 2010 games we single out on the cover will be extended with paid-for DLC, a key element of a release that is just as important as the day one launch.

That might be money retail just won’t see, no matter how many point cards or T-shirts you manage to associate with the latest download.

But I reckon that situation is far friendlier towards retail than the tougher reality facing the likes of video and music.