Actually I'm sort of hoping the Christmas rush causes a video game industry crash though it probably won't.
The way business is supposed to work is that companies directly compete with each other to produce the best possible product for the lowest possible price to earn customer sales. The competition for video games is generally minimal, with the companies engaging in price setting and adjusting release schedules to avoid going head to head with each other to keep their prices high. "Cartel Behavior" of exactly the same sort that gas companies are constantly in trouble for at least in the US, just from an industry the goverment has not decided is worth their attention on this level yet. I talk about it with some frequency... but seriously, think about how they operate and then look at what has happened with other groups who have tried the same stuff.
At any rate we're seeing a glut of "AAA" titles all being released in time for a Christmas rush where nobody wants to lower their prices, and all the producers apparently don't want to wait for their money and are hedging their bets on a lucrative Christmas season.... though right now we're still in the middle of a recession despite constant reports of things improving, and I sort of expect that this Christmas season is going to be one of the weakest ever, at least from how things look now.
Truthfully any of those titles could make a profit lowering it's price by $10 or $20 for a new release, and also massively undercut the other guys, but nobody is going to do it.
As a result I'm hoping we do see a situation where one or two titles sell and the rest of them basically crash and burn below expectations and drag a lot of the industry down for a while.
It's probably wishful thinking, but I want to see this because despite the short term repercussions of a big "video game crash" I think it will adjust the attitudes of the industry into lowering their prices, competing more, and so on. Despite all the whining there is always going to be an audience for video games, and with that audience there will always be someone producing them. Even if we see a lot of the current guys go out of business, someone else will step up, and hopefully go at it with a more customer-friendly business model.
As I said a couple of times, I doubt it will happen, but I noticed this release schedule too, and given the attitudes of the industry I hope a lot of these games wind up choking.
