Post by leunas on Feb 10, 2007 4:47:37 GMT -5
Industry analysts. You like them when they praise your favorites. You hate 'em when they forecast stormy weather. But just who are these lads that get paid to opine on the video game industry and where they think it's headed? Joystiq's own Kyle Orland gets to the bottom of said experts in a 2005 Next-Gen piece that has aged well.
For the most part, analysts create financial models for publicly traded companies. They plug in the numbers, crunch 'em, then interpret them for investors. Part of that interpretation includes buy/sell forecasting or "educated guessing" which is where most of the controversy stems from.
So who wouldn't want to get paid to have an opinion. Well, if what analysts say is correct (is that a paradox?), they work long hours for not as much pay as they could amass elsewhere. Still, they play games and talk games pretty much all day long for a living. Says prominent analyst Michael Pachter on his job, "If I am wrong in the press, I'll embarrass myself." But he still takes home a check.
www.joystiq.com/2007/02/09/a-little-background-on-game-analysts/