INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories Sweden
MCV finds out why mobiles, tablet devices and the long dark winters are helping this market grow
THE FACTS Population: 9,555,893 Currency: Swedish krona (SEK) GDP (Per Capita): $56,956 Capital City: Stockholm Languages: Swedish
TOP DEVELOPERS Arrowhead, Avalanche Studios, EA DICE, Fatshark, Mojang Productions, Paradox Studios, Starbreeze, Ubisoft Massive, Tarsier Studios, Rovio Sweden,
King.com
MAIN DISTRIBUTORS Bergsala, Koch Media, Namco Bandai, Nordic Game Supply, PAN Vision, Wendros, Ztorm (digital)
ABOUT THE MARKET
SWEDEN IS an expanding market, with mobile, tablet and Facebook gaming growing rapidly in the region. But, like its surrounding regions, the Swedish High Street has experienced problems whilst waiting for the boost of the next generation of consoles. “Physical retail has had a tough
time like the rest of Europe with two big electronic chains going bankrupt and one gaming specialist chain saved by the bell with new ownership in 2012,” says Nordic Games PR, marketing and franchise director Nik Blower. “The strong Swedish Krona makes games cheap outside of Sweden which naturally puts price pressure on the local publishers and distributors and alternatively enables more import from other countries.” Online retailers have experienced large growth in recent years and taken market share from both existing retailers as well as the electronic chains no longer in existence. One of the largest areas of growth in the region hasn’t happened in the retail sector, instead a wealth of
54 Around the World
development studios found a home in Sweden.
Physical retail has had a tough time, like the rest of Europe, with two big electronic chains going bankrupt. Nik Blower, Nordic Games
“
“The biggest growth area comes probably on the developer scene. Sweden, and Nordic in general, is jam- packed with quality developers, well- known for delivering on budget and on time,” adds Blower.
“New exciting start-ups of all sizes are popping up all over the country, triggered by the success of so many before them but also thanks to the lower threshold of taking your product to market than five to ten years ago.” The region has a long classical gaming tradition but the influx of smartphones and tablets have helped create a fast-growing base of handheld gamers.
Sweden remains a popular place for publishers to release games and Martin Sirc, Nordic general manager at Koch Media, believes there are plenty of reasons for publishers to continue to do so.
“It remains a strong PC market and gaming is socially well accepted though all age groups,” says Sirc. “And we have dark long winters.”
www.mcvuk.com
KEY RETAILERS
CDON.com, El-giganten, GameStop, GAME, MediaMarkt, Webhallen Spaceworld, Antilla
PUBLISHERS WITH A LOCAL OFFICE
Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Koch Media, Microsoft, Namco Bandai, Nordic Games, Paradox,Ubisoft, Warner Bros
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