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New Zealand
MCV takes a look at the games market within New Zealand and how developers are self-publishing their way to success
INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE
THE FACTS Population: 4,468,200 Currency: New Zealand Dollar GDP (Per Capita): $36,648 Capital City: Wellington Language: English
KEY RETAILERS
Dick Smith Electronics, EB Games (GameStop), Harvey Norman, JB Hi- Fi, Kmart, Noel Leeming, The Good Guys
KEY DISTRIBUTORS All Interactive, Gamewizz, QV Software, Tuff Kat
KEY DEVELOPERS Binary Star, Boolba Labs, CerebralFix, Custard Square, Gameloft, Grinding Gear Games, Launching Pad Games, Ninja Kiwi, Pik Pok, Runawayplay, Sidhe Interactive, Stickmen Studios
ABOUT THE MARKET
DON’T let the size of New Zealand fool you. The country’s games industry is one that’s on the rise. Just ask one of the 300 people that have taken up newly created positions within the country’s games industry over the past three years. The New Zealand Games Developers Association says there are around 450 developers within the country. Fuelling this growth is the region’s strong smartphone and online games market. Developers within New Zealand maintain a focus on producing online and smartphone games over boxed products. One example is New Zealand-based studio PikPok, one of the world’s leading smartphone games developers. Its original IP has been downloaded more than 30 million times. But that’s just one example. Other hit titles such as Path of Exile, The Blockheadsand Bloons Tower Defence 5have all secured
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99 per cent of the region’s revenue is from people outside of New Zealand buying its games.
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But it’s not just the development of these games that’s a factor behind the industry’s growth. Many of the country’s developers self-publish their titles thanks to this digital format, something that results in higher margins for the studios themselves.
over a million digital sales each. And they’re all produced by New Zealand-based developers. Across the industry, a total of 73 commercial video games were released by New Zealand developers between 2011 and 2012.
“For exporters like us, we go direct to our players via the internet,” says NZGDA chairman, Stephen Knightly. But all of this digital success comes at a price. The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association found the nation’s industry to have recorded $149 million of retail games sales within 2012 – an 18 per cent decline on the previous year. But the iGEA’s New Zealand director Mark Goodacre views the transition to digital as a positive one for the nation’s games industry. “While there is a decline in traditional sales, the gaming industry remains buoyant, as people shift towards a hybrid model in their consumption of interactive entertainment,” said Goodacre. Knightly too believes there’s still room for High Street games retail. “There remains a big place in the
market for physical outlets as they are a terrific place for consumers to get advice.”
Around the World 37
KEY PUBLISHERS EA, Microsoft, THQ, Sony, Warner Bros
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