I remember from a lecture at Gen-Con in the 90's that books and games do better during a financial crisis because they are more entertainment for the dollar. Maybe $60 video games don't follow the model.
That was a popular theory until 2008, when the industry was harshly disabused. I think it held so long as gaming was still expanding into the mainstream, but since the Wii/360/PS3 came out console gaming, at least, has been a saturated market.