Making the grade

First batch of quarterly earnings yield mixed results

This time the start of the semester was different.

After a decade of telling students that interactive entertainment is an exciting topic for study and a career path seldomly traveled by many, I found myself standing in front of the classroom having to entertain questions on what companies are likely to survive now that the games industry is showing a decline.

The steady cadence of layoff announcements that started to rain on the industry the past few weeks presents a different read on the ever-expanding video games universe. Despite record sales, including this week’s announcement by the Santa Monica Studio that its God of War Ragnarok had sold over 11 million copies, many of the major publishers are culling their ranks.

News of Rovio’s supposed acquisition had spread. Microsoft had announced its widespread layoffs. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo decided to abandon E3, the largest North American industry event, which, ICYMI, shouldn’t surprise you. And Electronic Arts suffered a downgrad…