Oh really, what image would you have chosen, then?

Now that the global economic crisis is apparently officially over, economists and statisticians can cast an assessing eye over the carnage. Throughout the panic the games industry has somehow managed to weather the storm, with the odd man overboard, but a better survival rate than other realms.

We can thank ourselves for that; market research group GfK Retail and Technology Australia have released some very cheering figures suggesting Australia's slice of the gaming pie is not only intact, but growing...

Last year Australia spent $1.96 billion on games and hardware at retail, but at the end of September, this year is showing an 8.3% increase over 2008's figures from the same period. Game sales increased by 5% and consoles by a significant 10%.

Core gamers might bemoan the influx of casual gamers to our beloved past time, but you can't deny they're helping fund it; 32% of all games sold were console offerings classed as "family" titles; the closest competitor was "action" at a comparatively measly 13.2% - not impressive for an incredibly broad classification.

The figures quoted obviously can't include the holiday season - the busiest sales period of the year - so should only improve from here in, as Interactive Games and Entertainment Association CEO Ron Curry commented:

"Christmas will see iGEA members delivering a number of highly anticipated games, along with some surprises, which should see sales surpass the records set in 2008 ... Australia’s interactive games industry continues to see healthy growth".