FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Niko Partners Issues Report on Outsourced Game
Development in China in 2007
Increased Foreign Publisher Demand Fuels China Game
Development and Job Growth
San Jose, CA - August 28, 2007 - Niko Partners, a leading
market research and
consulting firm for China’s video game industry, today
announced results from its
latest report focused on outsourced game development in
China. The report is
published in association with Game Developer Research, the
research arm of the
CMP Game Group, and is being released in conjunction with
the launch of the
Game Developers Conference China in Shanghai, August 27-29,
2007.
According to Niko and Game Developer Research, the 2007
revenue from
outsourced development of international games in China will
exceed $35 million,
and will grow in 2008 and beyond as supply is able to
accommodate increasing
demand for game outsourcing services. China has emerged as a
center for art
and animation outsourcing services, along with programming,
QA, and testing.
Most of the projects are portions of next-generation console
games for
international markets, due to their high art development
costs.
Approximately 33 Chinese outsourcing studios conduct
services for international
games, two-thirds of which have more than 40 employees. The
industry is
consolidating the number of studios, but the number of
developers on staff at
each of the featured studios rose by fifty percent since
2006. The report surveyed
150 studios in China to produce a list of 33 that were then
interviewed in depth. A
directory of these studios is included in the report with
full profiles detailing key
corporate statistics.
The demand portion of the research was based on a North
American survey of
166 development professionals. Seventy-six percent of
respondents already
engage in outsourced game development and thirty percent of
them already work
with Chinese studios. The percentage is expected to rise
over the next few years.
While China faces competition from other global outsourcing
regions, it is
currently the global leader according to the survey
responses.
“China has jumped ahead of other regions as the leader in
outsourced
development of international games. This is in large part
thanks to the 44 million
Chinese gamers from which more than 10,000 enthusiastic game
development
professionals have emerged as a talent pool to serve the
rising demand for
outsourcing from foreign publishers,” said Lisa Cosmas
Hanson, managing
partner of Niko Partners.
The report by Niko and Game Developer Research noted that
even though
design is not a strong suit of Chinese outsourcing studios
at this time, that skill
set is also being established as each studio creates and
improves its portfolio
used for business development. These studios could be the
training ground for
China’s next original IP game developers and publishers.
Simon Carless, Director of Game Developer Research, states:
“The biggest
issue for outsourcing to China has been difficulty with
communications. However,
many studios now employ bilingual management who work with
the liaison at the
publisher, and as a result, communications processes have
become more
effective.”
In addition to ongoing trends in supply and demand for
outsourcing, the report
contains results of a salary survey for various levels and
roles within the studios,
a look at the development tools in use, and the criteria
that many publishers have
for selecting a Chinese outsourcing studio.
The current research report, including the directory of 33
studios, sells for $3,000
US and is available by contacting Niko Partners at
+1.408.354.0888. More
information on this report or others, such as Niko’s 2007
China Video Game
Industry Annual Review & Five-Year Forecast Report, may be
obtained by
emailing Niko Partners at
info@nikopartners.com.
ABOUT NIKO PARTNERS
Niko Partners is the leading research firm focused on
providing specialized market intelligence on China’s
video game industry. Founded in 2003, the firm conducts
syndicated and custom research studies on
Chinese gamers, online games, offline games, consoles,
handhelds, regulatory issues, piracy,
development, online operators, distribution, and retail.
Niko Partners also offers consulting services
including focus groups, partnership selection, market
opportunity analysis, custom surveys in cities
throughout China and customized data analysis. The goal of
the research and strategic advisory services
is to help understand the market, strategically enter or
expand market share, and continue to profitably
grow within China. The company is based in Silicon Valley
and Shanghai, and its clients include worldwide
leaders in game software, hardware, and services, as well as
hedge funds, media companies, trade
associations, and management consulting firms, all of whom
have a vested interest in a thorough
understanding of China’s video game industry.
# # #
Contact:
Sean Kauppinen
International Digital Entertainment Agency
415-299-2156
sean@ide-agency.com
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