One doesn’t typically think of the Wall Street Journal as a fountain of useful game-related news, but some of the “big picture” articles in there are worth noticing. For example, today’s article, “Pump Priming Walmart”. The key quote: “With gasoline prices in retreat, low-income consumers will have a little more to spend. At the same time, with housing prices also sagging, higher-income house-holds could be sucking wind.”

Why does this matter? Because the game industry is currently being pulled in two very different directions. Some people want to make $20M AAA titles and charge $60 per unit. Others want to make casual games, employ user-generated content to decrease overall costs, experiment with micropayments, etc. Not that the latter group requires vindication — lately it seems like everyone is making or promoting casual and “free online” games — but this news seems to favor a softer price touch.

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