Globalisation ; Video games

I am sitting in a dinky coffee shop on Nanjing Road in the bring outt of Shanghais exchange business district as I write this post. As I look close to me the energy of this metropolis is palpable. There is a mavin of optimism and a can-do attitude that is remarkably similar to what I contract in every vibrant economy worldwide. There is another cat valium thread. Gaming is pervasive. Wherever I look, whether in the coffee shop or in the subway or bus station, people argon enjoying pictorial matter games and immersed in their phone, tablet, or laptop.Last week, I expounded on the first of three layperson orces that I believe be changing the videogame industry and today seems much relevant than ever to discuss the second one globalization. The global software product market for video games was approximately $52 billion in 2012. In Just the last 8 years, the emerging markets have gone from 12% to 47% of the market size and are ontogeny at a compounded annual rate of nearly 3 0%. While the egression is broad based, countries like china, Brazil and Russia are on a tear, growing upwards of 100% in categories like Android and iOS.In intimately of these markets, consoles are a very small art of looseness today, though that is alike starting to change as even countries like mainland China are re-evaluating long held policies on allowing consoles. As I look at practiced and game play trends, it is my strong belief that the market for gaming is overtaking to sustain this growth for many years to come and in most cases even accelerate. However, with globalization comes a very different set of technical challenges. Companies cant simply replicate their success in western markets with a scrub and repeat of existing strategies for vernal geographies.Companies that simply ranslate their products verbatim and release it into new markets will fail. To succeed, you have to think global but act local. What does this think in the context of videogames? Each cou ntry is different in its gaming patterns, consumer behavior, infrastructure, commercial norms and local regulations. Different aspects of the game have to be shipshape for local playing conditions as though the game was built from the aim up for that market.A few slips New game content that has local relevance and appeal Architectural changes that cater to local infrastructure, such(prenominal) as history for expected network latencies and packet losses. Introduction of different business models such as free-to-play Respect for local commercial norms, such as Konbini in Japan or Boleto Bancario in Brazil Expansion of the backend platform to oppose local offers, promotions and pricing changes Even though videogames are prevalent around the world today, there are cultural nuances that are extremely consequential to react to when it comes to delivering digital entertainment and services.Its not Just about market products differently (which is also very important) but the engin e room backbone that goes into livelihood these titles also needs to adjust for he country or region youre in. Everything from payment systems, gameplay mechanics and monetization strategies could be different. One such example is Plants vs. Zombies, a spectacular tower defense game from PopCap that has a spacious consumer base in North America.It has had remarkable success in China with its Great Wall edition which was released on mobile in China with local content, consumer data plans (26 and 36) and local network topology. Another example is FIFA Online 3 which was recently released in Korea and is based on the game mechanics of the best-selling(predicate) FIFA 13 console game but tailored for the local market. It has already broken records with 2. 4 million players in Just the first four-spot weeks since launch.Its a format that works better for that market and gives us the hazard to deliver one of our core franchises to a new audience. Global connectivity has expand the o pportunities for our industry while also completely changing the demands on our technology infrastructure. I have to be thinking global with every last I make. My next post Ill address what I see as the final secular force social connectivity. In the meantime, Id love to hear how going global in business impacts your day-to-day.