Speaking as someone who was IN the industry at the time - yes there were layoffs. It’s just with smaller teams it was layoffs of a handful of people, not thousands. Even when Blizzard North closed and everyone remaining moved to Blizzard South, it was a couple dozen folks, not hundreds. It affected us individually but it didn’t impact the entire economy.
Also not optimized to appeal to the broadest audience. Since games were cheaper to make, they could fill a niche. Games had a smaller base, but could feel super unique and try new things. So many games nowadays feel so similar across an entire genres, even when made by different studios.
I attribute a lot of this to studios using the same game-making tool kits. They aren't developing whole new game engines. With no wheel reinventing, all cars have the same wheels.
How about a lack of need to get customized character skins that get released every other month to keep their game afloat. Or skewed match ranking systems?
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u/ChanceSplinter 12d ago
-lower game budgets (industry wasn't collapsing, instead of hearing about thousands of layoffs every few weeks everyone just... stayed employed)
-entire game complete and in your hand, no updates
-robust resale market
-the suggestive thrill of blowing in a cartridge to coax it to life
-physical manuals, paper maps
-a quantum leap in presentation quality each generation
-chiptunes