http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/412154/1/.html
Recession provides opportunities for gaming industry to grow
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 28 February 2009 1920 hrs
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SINGAPORE: With more people turning to games to take their minds off the recession, the industry is poised for growth.
The gaming industry in South Korea is worth billions of dollars and employs 25,000 people in Seoul alone. It all started in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis which left many young men unemployed leading to the popularity of online gaming.
With Singapore facing its worst recession, the gaming industry here may be similarly poised for a take-off.
Michelle Lui, deputy director, Media Development Authority, said: “Gaming can be an affordable kind of entertainment. People will be switching to playing the more cheaper games and that is an opportunity where a lot of our companies are focusing on, the PC casual games, the Nintendo DS kind of console handheld, or even the online games. So there are opportunities."
In the last few years, the Singapore gaming industry has been growing exponentially.
Garena, a games platform developed by a local company garnered 11 million subscribers in 180 countries in its two years of operations.
CarneyVale: Showtime, a game developed by a team of U.S. and Singaporean students, recently beat 350 entries from around the world to win the top prize at the 2008 Microsoft XNA Dream-Build-Play competition.
Viwawa, a local multi-player online game site, attracts more than one million players from Asia to compete in a game of sushi delivery or online Mahjong.
The success of the gaming industry can be attributed to a mix of factors including local broadband penetration rates, education policies, government support and game innovation.
But how will it fare in the downturn?
Christopher Low, president, Viwawa, said: “One of the main challenge is really to create compelling content, to draw the gamers in and after you have drawn them in, the next big phase is really to lock them in because gamers have very high demand. Some of them have very short attention span, so invariably a lot of them will just go to the next game site.”
It's not just game makers that are doing well. Game players in Singapore are also increasingly skilled. Last year, five Singaporean players were asked to represent China at the Championship Gaming Series held in the United States. It was one of the largest professional tournaments in the world.
A professional gamer in Singapore can make about US$30 to US$50,000 a year from sponsorship and gaming prizes.
But professionals said that it’s not easy money.
Nicholas Aaron Khoo, co-founder, Cybersports & Online Gaming Association, said: “We always compare it to like professional tennis or professional golf. It's not easy because there is a lot of competition. You have to work really hard.”
To find out more about a gaming career, you can head to the upcoming Media Fiesta to be held at Marina Square on March 5. - CNA/vm
Recession provides opportunities for gaming industry to grow
By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 28 February 2009 1920 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
SINGAPORE: With more people turning to games to take their minds off the recession, the industry is poised for growth.
The gaming industry in South Korea is worth billions of dollars and employs 25,000 people in Seoul alone. It all started in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis which left many young men unemployed leading to the popularity of online gaming.
With Singapore facing its worst recession, the gaming industry here may be similarly poised for a take-off.
Michelle Lui, deputy director, Media Development Authority, said: “Gaming can be an affordable kind of entertainment. People will be switching to playing the more cheaper games and that is an opportunity where a lot of our companies are focusing on, the PC casual games, the Nintendo DS kind of console handheld, or even the online games. So there are opportunities."
In the last few years, the Singapore gaming industry has been growing exponentially.
Garena, a games platform developed by a local company garnered 11 million subscribers in 180 countries in its two years of operations.
CarneyVale: Showtime, a game developed by a team of U.S. and Singaporean students, recently beat 350 entries from around the world to win the top prize at the 2008 Microsoft XNA Dream-Build-Play competition.
Viwawa, a local multi-player online game site, attracts more than one million players from Asia to compete in a game of sushi delivery or online Mahjong.
The success of the gaming industry can be attributed to a mix of factors including local broadband penetration rates, education policies, government support and game innovation.
But how will it fare in the downturn?
Christopher Low, president, Viwawa, said: “One of the main challenge is really to create compelling content, to draw the gamers in and after you have drawn them in, the next big phase is really to lock them in because gamers have very high demand. Some of them have very short attention span, so invariably a lot of them will just go to the next game site.”
It's not just game makers that are doing well. Game players in Singapore are also increasingly skilled. Last year, five Singaporean players were asked to represent China at the Championship Gaming Series held in the United States. It was one of the largest professional tournaments in the world.
A professional gamer in Singapore can make about US$30 to US$50,000 a year from sponsorship and gaming prizes.
But professionals said that it’s not easy money.
Nicholas Aaron Khoo, co-founder, Cybersports & Online Gaming Association, said: “We always compare it to like professional tennis or professional golf. It's not easy because there is a lot of competition. You have to work really hard.”
To find out more about a gaming career, you can head to the upcoming Media Fiesta to be held at Marina Square on March 5. - CNA/vm
