Growth within certain Asian markets has continued apace, with competition fierce but an opportunity certainly beckoning for many organisations.
One such entity striving to showcase this potential, as well as providing an opportunity for business development across the region, is Asian facing gaming consultants Dynamic Partners.
The company is all set to host its second Game Development Fair at this year’s G2E Asia, held in Macau from May 21-23, building upon the experience gained during the “trial” of last year.
CasinoBeats has been speaking to Harmen Brenninkmeijer, managing partner at Dynamic Partners, regarding aims heading into the event, what has been learned, and how interested parties can participate and what they’ll take away.
“There is an opportunity for European developers to learn from the Asian operators”
CB: What are the ambitions heading into the Game Development Fair this year?
Harmen Brenninkmeijer: The Asian market is changing fast. Previously, European games ported to the Asian market would have been good enough, but now there are a lot more specifics that need to be considered to be successful.
It’s not just about localisation, but also about catering for player behaviour, which can vary greatly between the operators. Some operators just mass market all games without any real consideration of BI, whilst others are far more sophisticated.
Our focus is on two-way communication. The Asia operators are now developing their own games, using their experience of the last two decades to introduce their own content into the mix.
There is an opportunity for European developers to learn from the Asian operators and understand what it is they are looking for. The enabler of this is the opening of communication channels to make it possible – the Game Development Fair is one such channel.
CB: What lessons have been learned from the fair’s debut last year? How will you build on the initial offering and enhance the experience?
HB: Last year was a bit of a “trial”, with limited focus on marketing the event. This year there is more support to push the event, increase its exposure and locate it a central area. There has also been increased communication with operators that will attend G2E.
“The regional companies serving the market are not sitting still – they are working hard to capture market share”
CB: How do interested parties participate? And what they can they expect to gain as a result?
HB: We have made it easy for companies to get involved and participate. There is a simple form to complete with company details. Then upon acceptance, participants are issued a space in the Game Development Fair they can occupy for the duration of G2E, this can be used to showcase products or hold meetings.
This creates an anchor point to organise meetings, learn more about the market and to maximise exposure in a highly cost-effective way. Asia generally represents a huge opportunity, but it takes time and exposure in the market to start learning what is required to be successful, especially as a new entrant to the market.
CB: How would you assess the industry within Asian? And how would titles showcased best appeal to this audience?
HB: The industry in the region is still growing strongly. More countries are enabling some form of regulation, creating the need for more games. The regional companies serving the market are not sitting still – they are working hard to capture market share in their home markets.
Competition is intense, but there is a major opportunity for highly experienced companies from more mature markets, to introduce sophisticated math models that ultimately attract the better players.
CB: Why was the decision made to make this alignment with G2E Asia? And why does it represent a good opportunity for those interested?
HB: G2E Asia should be credited with the vision of creating the event and alignment. They are interested to attract innovative suppliers, and they understand that the industry, and especially game studios, have limited budgets.
The flights to Asia take longer, are more expensive (albeit not as expensive as people think) and as a result many companies just visit to investigate the market, when they would benefit hugely from showing product.
This is precisely the justification for the Game Development Fair, as an inexpensive exhibiting option to investigate the market whilst showing product. As an Asia-based consultancy, Dynamic Partners has experience of both Europe and Asia, and as such are in a unique position to engage innovators with the local industry.