INTERNATIONAL FACTFILE Belgium
MCV looks at the games market in Belgium and how handheld consoles are more popular in the country than neighbouring European territories
In association with Wholesaler and distributor of video games, consoles and accessories
THE FACTS Population: 11,035,948 Currency: Euro GDP (Per Capita): $43,686 Capital City: Brussels Language: Dutch, French, German
TOP RETAILERS Bart Smit,
Bol.com, Colruty, Free Record Shop, Horelec, Intertoys, Maverdo/Dreamland, Maxi Toys, Micromedia, MMS, PB Projects, Strengholt, Supra Center, Toy Champ.
KEY DISTRIBUTORS CLD Distribution, Game World, Koch Media
PUBLISHERS WITH A LOCAL OFFICE EA, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft
ABOUT THE MARKET
BELGIUM maintains a relatively strong games market. Research firm NewZoo estimates that there are over 4.4m gamers in Belgium – just under half of the country’s total population. 2.1m of these consumers are actively paying for their games. Belgian consumers bought 6.5 million games in 2011 and 84 per cent of these were console titles. However, the figure is a decline on the previous year, where 7.1m console games were sold in addition to 2.2m PC titles.
This decline is attributed to the growth of social and mobile gaming within the Benelux region. Dutch entertainment trade association NVPI found PC and console software sales accounted for 64 per cent of the market in 2010. The association expects this figure to fall to 59 per cent through 2013. But despite the decline of boxed games sales, the market has
6 Around the World
actually grown in recent years. NewZoo estimates the market generated a total revenue of $390m (£242m) in 2012. That’s compared to 2011 where revenue stood at just $300m (£186m).
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Of Belgium’s 1.98m mobile gamers, 42 per cent play on handhelds, higher than the 19 per cent across Europe.
The average consumer in Belgium plays on three different platforms. Most popular of these were casual games websites, which attracted over 2.7m gamers in 2012 alone. Home consoles followed closely behind with 2.6m players whilst mobile devices were used by 2m consumers.
Handheld consoles such as the Nintendo 3DS remain king unlike in neighbouring European markets. Of Belgium’s 1.98m mobile gamers, Newzoo found 42 per cent play on handheld consoles, while just 24 per cent use their smartphones and eight per cent opt for tablet devices. The demand for handheld consoles is much higher than that found in the rest of Europe, too. Only 19 per cent of the region’s 62m mobile gamers play on handheld machines compared to 42 per cent who play on smartphones. The majority of games sales in the territory are accounted for by non-specialist retailers. NVPI found that toy retailers account for 70 per cent of video games sales across the Benelux region.
Distribution in Belgium is largely handled by larger firms such as Koch Media, which cover the entire Benelux region including Luxembourg and The Netherlands.
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TOP DEVELOPERS Crazy Monkey Studios, Softkinetic Studios, Belle Productions, DAE Studios, Daoka, I-Illusions, Monkube, Larian Studios, Tale of Tales, Newfort, Neopica, Playlane, GriN, Nuclide, Sakari Games, PreviewLabs, Visual Impact, LuGus Studios, Triangle Factory, Sileni Studios, Vetasoft Studio
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