The technology industry has taken some big hits in the current economy as consumers and businesses curtail spending. But one segment of the industry sees a silver lining to the downturn: video games. Really, you’d ask.

Game companies like Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox are claiming surge in sales and they’re aiming to capture business from people who are staying home more and looking for escapist forms of entertainment. “We really do believe that we are less susceptible to economic woes than, say, big ticket luxury items or a lot of different industries,” said Dave Roberts, CEO of PopCap Games, maker of the popular game series Bejeweled in an interview to US dailies. Roberts, like others in the game industry, said October to December were strong months for his company, despite the nation’s accelerating financial meltdown. 

The industry has long held tight to the notion that video games are resistant to economic turmoil. And so far this year, that has held true for sales of the big consoles — Sony’s PlayStation 3, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. Atomic Moguls, a Seattle company that distributes dozens of free sports games through social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, has continued to attract new users. Between September and mid-November, it reported an increase in game downloads by 30 per cent.

As times toughen economically, will consumers continue to shell out Rs 6500 for a PS2 to Rs 10,000 for a Xbox ? Will they back off the higher-priced games in favor of budget-oriented Wii titles? Or will they fire up the PC to play free casual games online? These remain open to speculations.

While some online game companies generate revenue through individual game sales and subscriptions, many also rely to varying degrees on online advertising to support their business — with ads that appear on their websites and that run in and around the games themselves. With advertisers reining in their budgets these days, that piece of the business model could prove to be a problem.

Watch this space.