BETA | REGION FOCUS: UAE AND THE MIDDLE EAST
In association with:
Land of opportunity
The Middle East is home to some 360 million people, and their appetite for games is on the rise. Will Freeman talks to the developers and trade bodies ready to harness the potential of what might be the industry’s most significant new market
The inauguration of the increasingly important Dubai World Game Expo (above)
THE MIDDLE EAST is a misunderstood region. The national newspapers would have you believe it’s a place defined by bloodshed, civil unrest, religious fervour and terrorism. Even the most liberal minded of those from outside the vast geographical area that stretches from Northern Africa to Western Asia can find it hard to shake from their minds the clichés that thousands of reels of television footage have etched into the conscience of the Western psyche. It’s certainly a place with its fair share of
problems, but the reality for hundreds of millions of its residents isn’t as alien as you might think. Technology in many parts is just as
prevalent as elsewhere, to the point that smartphone penetration in the United Arab Emirates alone has reached a staggering 200 per cent. Across the pan-Arab world 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 25,
and subsequently the appetite for mass media culture is near insatiable. Countries like Dubai are awash with
investors, and in spite of the regimes that caused the Arab Spring, there are open-minded governments with a view to welcoming Western culture and industry. And yet the games industry in the area is only just beginning to blossom.
UNITED THEY STAND “In the area there is a huge interest in video games, and a huge market. For a long time there have been a lot of people in the region that love games and want to develop them,” confirms Yannick Theler, general manager of Ubisoft’s new Abu Dhabi studio. Theler, a ten-year Ubisoft veteran who first joined the company at its Swiss studio, is undertaking the huge task of establishing and building an enormous development
team in the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. And he isn’t afraid to admit that – despite the opportunities available – building a games industry in the Middle East is going to take a monumental effort. “Until now people here interested in
making games only had two options. They could either leave the area and go to the US or Europe, or, more often now, they could try and set up with other people and try to make those games. The second option, though, left them lacking in expertise. It was very hard until now.” Fortunately for Theler and the other pioneers taking a bet on the Middle East’s games industry, an ambitious media hub centred in Abu Dhabi City has been conceived with a view to establish the area, and wider region, as a globally relevant destination for games development, TV, film, animation, and numerous other industries.
xx | XX 2012
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