Players and Developers Around the World

While Secrets of the Game Business focuses on the way things work in the western world, the game industry is truly a global phenomenon, and the ways in which people play vary wildly from one part of the world to the next. Let's look at some of the interesting phenomena happening out of the North American public's eye.

Unknown Genres

The Japanese console game market is far more diverse than what we see in our stores. For example, small games sold for the equivalent of a few dollars and designed to be played through in a single sitting, possibly during a party, are, if not commonplace, at least relatively easy to find. And if you think some American games are edgy, you would be surprised to learn how far Asian games have pushed the envelope in terms of violent and sexy content.

Perhaps the most interesting game genre indigenous to Japan and all but unknown everywhere else is the dating simulator, where the player must flirt with and conquer the hearts of virtual characters with surprisingly well-rounded personalities. Sometimes campy, sometimes serious, the dating simulator subculture has given birth to a number of incredibly popular characters, whose appeal has outgrown the boundaries of their original platforms.

Fan Appropriation

[Carter02] reports on this growing phenomenon: Japanese players appropriate popular characters and storylines from videogames and create doujinshi, books that contain fan fiction, artwork, and similar materials. These doujinshi are then printed in small quantities and traded at fan conventions, by mail, and in specialty shops. In some cases, fans have even created whole new games featuring beloved characters; for example, there is an entire series of fan-produced fighting games starring the cast of a famous dating sim available in the gaming underground.

While legally dubious, the doujinshi movement has pushed the popularity of some game properties far beyond the wildest dreams of their creators, and has created a market for (legitimate) anime, manga, and novels based on them.

The Game Rooms of Korea

The most successful persistent online game of all time isn't EverQuest or Quake III Arena: it is Lineage, a product of Korean developer NCSoft. Lineage was already the most lucrative game of its kind, with over 4 million subscribers, by the time it was first marketed in the United States—a feat that is even more impressive when you realize that the overwhelming majority of its players don't even own home computers.

Indeed, Korean players gather to play online games in "game rooms," where they rent computers and online access by the hour. A given game room can host dozens or hundreds of people at the same time, many of whom never use a computer for any other purpose. Jake Song, one of Lineage's creators, told an amazed audience at the 2002 Game Developer's Conference that the game's extremely simple gameplay was due to the fact that many of its players weren't very comfortable with a mouse, and that his company's customer support had to rely on the telephone because the players did not know how to send e-mail to ask for help!

Online games are so popular in Korea that a number of first-rate North American players have moved there to play professionally on a full-time basis—and the best of them can't get out of their homes without being mobbed by autograph chasers.

A Global Community

Finally, game development has truly gone global. Of course, the demographic centers of the industry remain Japan, California, Texas, and Great Britain. However, large and/or highly successful game development communities have coalesced in Korea, Taiwan, British Columbia, Maryland, Germany, France, Qu bec, Florida, and Australia. Several companies located in Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Poland entered the market over the past several years, often as subcontractors, and are becoming major players. And few are the areas of the world where no developers at all can be found.

As a result, the membership of the International Game Developers' Association (IGDA) has been growing by leaps and bounds, and local chapters have been formed in over 20 countries.

Emerging Game Development Communities

The game industry is going global, with significant players emerging in countries located far from the centers of the business.

"Game development has been going on in Malaysia for more than 10 years," says Brett Bibby of GameBrains. "We have two large studios, several small startups, some amateur groups, and a few dozen hobbyists. GameBrains has developed Backyard Baseball, The Mummy Returns, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Madden 2002, and several other games for the Game Boy Advance, and we are currently working on console titles. Phoenix Game Studios is finishing a game based on the Fung Wan franchise for the PC platform."

For his part, Jeferson Valadares, co-founder of Brazil's Jynx Playware, estimates that his country hosts half a dozen professional studios and about 20 teams of semi-pros and amateurs. "Jynx managed to get VC money, and we are now going through the process of publishing a massive online multiplayer soccer management game in several markets, starting with the United States and Japan."

Israel is another small but emerging game development area. "We have several companies, but only a few are mainstream game developers," says Ohad Barzilay, coordinator of the Israeli chapter of the IGDA. "We have more companies working on edutainment and alternative platforms such as cable set-top boxes and mobile phones. And since the individual companies working in the field are mostly unaware of each other, it's still a community discovering itself."

Development companies share some of the same problems, no matter where they are located: lack of funding, a rarity of seasoned professionals, and so forth. "Local CEO's told me that the banks, venture capitalists, and other financial organization don't take game development seriously at all," comments Ohad Barzilay, "so they refuse to support companies. Distance from the large markets (U.S./Europe) is also a problem; outside of the big events like E3, most companies cannot 'mingle' with experienced studios without high expenses, and most prefer to save that money."

However, some countries and regions have found innovative ways to help their developers thrive. Malaysia's Multimedia University and the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil have created undergraduate and graduate courses in game development. Technology-oriented companies located in a specific area near Kuala Lumpur can apply for a special status that allows them to be exempted from taxes for up to 10 years, relaxes restrictions on foreign ownership, and eases the obtention of work visas for foreign knowledge workers. A similar program, the Cit du Multim dia, has been implemented in Montreal, Canada. The Brazilian cities of Recife and Curitibe also offer tax incentives that game developers can benefit from, and the national government's cultural incentive laws allow interactive entertainment companies to apply for subsidies. "But it's tricky and no one has accomplished it yet," says Jeferson Valadares. And sometimes, going far away has its advantages. "Malaysia has a very active and supportive investment willing to work with game companies," says Brett Bibby. "This helps overcome the experience problem because there are funds available for training. Besides, Malaysia rocks! The cost of living is low, the country is near the equator so the weather is tropical year-round, it has many resorts and beaches nearby, it is extremely modern, has excellent healthcare and education, and the people are very nice."