But the city's Abertay University, one of the few places in the UK you can take courses on video games design and development, is still churning out graduates keen to make their mark in the sector.
Controversy was always hovering in the wings but there was much for racing to cheer with attendances growing at the courses - and in the cinemas where Seabiscuit was one of the year's most talked-about films.
In one mailing, replacing an image of Michelangelo's God's hand with one depicting the ruins of Petra produced a 21.8% lift in sales from its Great Courses catalog.