Video game bubble to burst?

So by now you must have heard of the new Call of Duty game? Black Ops? My roommate bought it on release day and has been playing it non-stop ever since.

Apparently, it grossed $360 million on its first day of sale — which once again reaffirms that video games are now bigger than movies (and the major cause of mass losses in productivity around the world).

But here’s my question: are the benefits derived from games like this worth the cost?

Long gone are the days when my Super Nintendo games sold for twenty bucks a piece. New games now retail between $60-70 before tax.

I don’t admit to being an avid gamer, but for years I’ve been observing the trend of skyrocketing video game prices. This leads me to believe that as new technologies progress, and games become more complex to design, production costs are going to continue to increase as larger development teams are needed. As a result, retail prices are also to rise. We could see another $20 increase within the next 10-15 years.

Maybe it’s just me, but I foresee the video game bubble bursting soon. At some point, someone is going to wake up and realize that they’re not willing to shell out close to $100 after tax to play a game. The video game industry is going to collapse and will have to undergo major restructuring. At least I always have 8-bit Mario to fall back on.

—Kenny Mak