BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia (Credit: Plaid Hat Games)
Times are tough for video game publishers.
Sales are down. Way down. Even buoyed by a couple of high profile, big-selling hits, March’s numbers were down a full 10% compared to last year. The news is full of closings, layoffs, and downsizing; the year’s already seen the piecemeal sale of one once-proud major publisher. Even Electronic Arts, home to powerhouse brands like The Sims and Madden, has been wracked by a wave of layoffs that have left a reported 1,000 jobless -- and rumor has it more are coming.
The reasons are many -- the floundering economy and the long wait for the next generation of consoles certainly haven’t helped -- but whatever the cause, it’s seen publishers turning to other revenue opportunities.
In recent years that’s meant imaginative toy tie-ins, like Activision’s lucrative Skylanders franchise, or perhaps big-budget movies like 2015’s planned Ratchet & Clank. But one of the year’s most interesting juxtapositions of traditional entertainment and the world of video games isn’t either of those -- it’s a board game.
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