Having once been thought of as a fad, one relegated to the domain of the acne-riddled nerd, video games continue to come a long way. With the market having surpassed both the motion picture and music industries in finance, few question the validity of the business anymore. The overall socio-political impact, however, remains cloudy.

Video games do not appear to have nearly the same sphere of cultural influence as that of movies and music, specifically. While Mario and Master Chief are very recognizable figures, the actual creators of those games do not hold a candle to the marketability or renown of Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Ridley Scott, David Bowie or Paul McCartney. A growing topic of concern amongst both gamers and the industry itself is the recognition of the entertainment medium as art. Furthermore, there appears to be an expanding desire for a lobbying group to represent the industry’s voice on Capitol Hill in Washington.

With all of this talk of arts and entertainment, societal issues and politics, this begs the economics question, “where is the recession?” If in fact a recession is upon us, and video games are indeed considered a luxury good, why are revenues higher than ever, the stakes in buyouts and mergers ever raised, and growth moving further into record territory, where is this alleged recession?

If there is a recession approaching, or if we are in the middle of one, where is its’ supposed profound impact upon gamers and, accordingly, the video game industry itself?

Apparently, if there’s a recession anywhere around, this industry is either ignorant of that fact, immune to its effects, or the talk of this much-ballyhooed bear market is being greatly exaggerated.