perry_blueberry said:
some people seem unable to make a single rational decision during their lifetime

They are probably rational, just using a skewed or inaccurate understanding of facts or relationships or causality.

Also, yes, for a single human being, they may end up buying a steak anyway and then be late on their electricity bill, because steak is freakin' delicious and the monkey brain wants it.

My point is that, overall, the concept of substitute products is much more important to marketing, than the idea that there's either a sale, or there isn't, in a vacuum. Your product is always a substitute for some other use for that money (even if that substitute is “saving it for a rainy day.”) The customer has to believe that you will deliver more value than the substitutes, whether that's emotionally or rationally or (usually) a combination of both. And for that to happen, you need to both reach the customer with your message, and have that message be the right one. And the main reason “actually making a good game” is important to marketing, is that messages about bad games will reach people through channels you don't control yourself, so you're not in 100% control of your marketing, no matter how much time and money you spend on it!

While your off wondering if now is a good time to market a game, I'm dealing with people asking if now is a good time to make games.

The Issue with the world opening up is something I feel acutely and I have the instinct of this, Asking people to spend more time in front of a computer, connected to their devices is a hard proposition. I don't even want to as much, myself.

Furthermore, most people now want to be paid for their time, So finding good reliable people willing to be glued to their computer or smart phone is a tough proposition.

Global Costs have steadily risen, making it harder and harder to justify anything that doesn't pay off in the short term.

midnight thoughts but if you want to get anywhere with a game you're making, you gotta market yourself. Otherwise you'll be the next metroidvania rpg roguelike with some generic pixel art style #44349. Seeking a publisher is a fast way to get people on your game, and if you want, you can then just self-publish after gaining a following.