The DeanBeat: A report from the stormy seas of gaming at Casual Connect

Every year, I enjoy going to the Casual Connect USA conference in San Francisco. It’s a place to listen to talks, roam the hallways, gossip at the parties, and chatter with old friends. The stories were familiar. Gaming is a business of hits and misses, winners and losers, big companies and indies, with very little in between.

The show this week at the Marriott Marquis was smaller, with about 2,000 people compared to maybe 3,000 people last year. Thanks to mergers and acquisitions, layoffs and relocations, I saw fewer game companies and fewer vendors selling things to them. It was almost as if everybody was reloading and figuring out new ways to succeed in what has become a $99 billion global business. It feels as if everyone is looking for a haven in a market that has become very stormy and dangerous.