January 29, 2010

More career opportunities for gaming in 2010?

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After years of hype as being "recession proof," the once-high-flying video game industry came back to earth last year, with console sales dipping by 8 percent and PC game sales down a surprising 23 percent compared to the record year of 2008. Still, the overall $20 billion in revenue for 2009 represented one of the highest totals in the industry's history.

While many gaming companies are showing continued concern about sales in 2010, there are some bright spots and hope for a recovery, especially in the Seattle area. At last count, the Puget Sound region -- the North American home of Nintendo's Wii, the nation's longtime best-selling system, as well as Microsoft's popular Xbox -- employs about 15,000 people in 150 companies. If this sounds impressive, it's because the numbers (the most recent available) are from 2007, well before the global economic implosion of 2008.

How successful are our local gaming giants? And will their success translate to new jobs in the region? Tonight, at 5 p.m. in Bothell, some of the region's major players will meet to discuss career opportunities and future growth of the industry in light of the recession. Pioneers of Interactive Media, sponsored by the Washington Interactive Network (WIN) and hosted by the University of Washington Bothell, will feature a two-hour panel discussion with Travis Baldree and Marsh Lefler, founders of Runic Studios; Ed Fries of Microsoft Game Studios; Matt Wilson of Microsoft's Gaming Zone and co-founder of Detonator Games; Steve Theodore, technical art director for Bungee Studios; and Patrick Wyatt, creator of Arena-Net and vice preside of R&D for Blizzard Entertainment.

As an unabashed booster of the industry, WIN is clearly looking for silver linings in an industry that has skidded in the last 12 months. Still, tonight's presentation at UW Bothell's Truly House should provide a glimpse into the near future for possible job opportunities in 2010, which should be of particular interest to the many UW students who are expected to attend and will be competing for coveted new gaming jobs come spring.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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