A game developer walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender pours him one and says “That’ll be nine dollars. Prices have tripled because of the recession.” The game developer puts three dollars down on the bar and says “It’s ok… I’m recession-proof.”

Jokes stolen from the Double Fine web game Host Master and the Conquest of Humor aside, there’s some news from retail outlet GameStop that reminds us that not everyone is hurting right now.

Kotaku reports that not only did GameStop’s 2008 sales rise to $8.8 billion, nearly a quarter up from last year, they opened over a thousand new stores.

In what I read as a grudging nod to the economic hard times, they only plan on opening 400 new stores (while rolling around in the $398.3 million net that they have converted to small bills and formed into piles.)

Of course, not everyone in gaming is in the black. Still, it’s nice to see some parts of the entertainment sector are still hanging tough.

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