The Congress is putting together a 700 billion bail out designed to prop up the financial sector of the United States while in Europe, banks are getting nationalized left and right. The price of oil is still around 100 dollars and there's a clear chance that it will go up while more and more people are complaining of economic hardships. So, is videogaming at risk from the economic downturn?

There are some signs that the entertainment industry in general and that videogame companies might be sparred the drama. Almost all the big publishers have cash on hand and are debt free, which means that the credit crunch will not affect them at all. On the other hand, the NPD data shows that sales are increasing, with more titles getting over the one million barrier and with more revenue coming from hardware sales than in 2007, when the economy was said to be still booming.

Michael Pachter, from Wedbush Morgan Securities, told 1UP that “I don't think that share price makes much difference to the publishers' operations over the near term. None of them are in a position to have to issue new stock in order to get their business done, at least not over the next two years”.

The smaller publishers can be in danger of getting low on cash, but Atari, Midway, Eidos and Majesco have all done deals of one kind or another with various entities, which are supposed to bring in cash and help the companies go through the difficult financial situation.

A strong line up of titles and price cuts, like the most recent ones for the Xbox 360, will also get the videogaming industry to a great Christmas period. So, if you're looking to get your money into a strong sector during these troubled times, take a closer look at companies like Activision Blizzard or Electronic Arts.