What does the Finnish gaming industry have in common with cycling?
No, we will not offer you an absurd riddle in the spirit of “what do a crow and a desk look like”. We will explain exactly how little Finland managed to become a significant figure in the global mobile market in a few years – and surprise the world with three hits in a row at once: Angry Birds, Hay Day and Clash of Clans.
At the Pocket Gamer Connects 2014 event in Helsinki, Suvi Latva from the Finnish Gaming Industry Association Neogames said that the country’s industry is growing at a breakneck pace. It’s hard to disagree with her: the total revenue from game sales for 2013 is estimated at more than €900 million ($1.2 billion), which is 260% more than in the previous year. If you add merchandising and mergers and acquisitions, as well as investment activities, the total amount will exceed an impressive €2.2 billion ($3 billion). Meanwhile, between 2011 and 2014, $1.8 billion was invested in the Finnish game industry.
One of the most common questions that investors and developers ask is why is this happening? Is there a “special ingredient” for success?
There is no definite answer to these questions. A lot of cumulative factors play a role here; one of the key ones, oddly enough, is the small size of the country itself. Since Finland does not have an extensive domestic market, small companies have to enter the international level almost immediately. Developers do not compete directly with each other. Their competition is not a fight, but a bike ride: as soon as one developer pushes, he is ahead, then the others pull up and overtake him. The achievements of some companies do not reduce the chances of success of others. Last but not least, this is because the connections and support within the gaming community are very strong, that is, the camera format of the development firms, coupled with a strong spirit of community, helps the industry grow and gain strength. Nor should we underestimate the significant support of business from the government: The industry gets an opportunity to develop, including through government injections and financial support from the Tekes agency.
Another component of success, of course, is the fact that, thanks to Nokia and its popularly beloved pixel Snake, by the end of the 1990s, Finland already had experience in developing and selling mobile games.
So, let’s summarize: the support of the government and domestic investors, unique experience in game development, relatively gentle horizontal competition within the domestic market. What is the result? More than 200 companies successfully operating in the mobile market, the stunning growth of the country’s gaming industry and as many as three world bestsellers. It seems that we have found another similarity between the Finnish gaming industry and the bike ride: a spectacle that promised nothing special eventually becomes something that is difficult to break away from.
Pocket Gamer Connects is a world-famous show in Europe dedicated to mobile games. The most important speakers and delegates of the gaming industry from all over the world speak at Pocket Gamer Connects. The show is held in London and Helsinki.
Suvi Latva – Coordinator of the Neogames show in Finland
Tekes is a fund to promote the development of small forms of enterprises in the scientific and technical sphere and an agency for financing technologies and innovations. It is part of the Finnish Ministry of Employment.
Source: http://www.pocketgamer.biz
