The rebounding market has defrosted retailers

Surprisingly, despite some dismal headlines in the trade – some of which we’ve published – and general excitement around digital games, optimism has broken through. You can read the full results of our MCV Annual Retail Survey by clicking here.

Yes, some of the anecdotal comments are quite damning. The one from a well-known buyer that was confident about our business, but not about the state of the market” is telling of a fractuous situation our round of quick survey calls didn’t have the time to explore.

But overall, the mood seems to be that although retail has the potential to disappoint, it still can surprise even the most established experts in bricks and mortar sales.

The success of Black Ops, or the fact that UK games retail bucked the cold weather to grow and grow, is testament to that.

MEDIA STORM IN A TEA CUP
But perhaps the uplifted sentiment comes in part because of an increasing overall faith in games as a form of entertainment.

This week, our industry proved more than bulletproof after laser-targeted shots were fired from the BBC’s news team with Panorama’s ‘Addicted to Games’.

I personally thought it featured well-intended questions ruined by terrible soundbites and attempts to intentionally annoy.

Of course the editor-in-chief of MCV would think that – but checking online, you could see that most viewers saw the show in the same way. Ominous editing and sound FX tricks didn’t work on them.

From Twitter to Mumsnet, the mainstream wasn’t duped. Few thought the show raised genuine concerns.

And you can safely assume that sentiment was shared within the walls of the BBC, where pretty much every part of the corporation has tipped its hat to games this year – often by commissioning them directly.