Boosting the Games Industry in Southern Finland Teemu Saarelainen Head of Games Cursor Oy
Jan 13, 2015
Boosting the Games Industry in Southern
FinlandTeemu Saarelainen
Head of Games
Cursor Oy
A tip of the iceberg
Development
Everything else• Financing, Cash Flow, Budgeting• Legal• Marketing• Internationalization• User Acquisition• Monetization• Servers & Hosting• Metrics & Analytics•
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Background
Current Status of the Game Industry during 2010• Finnish Game Industry 2008 (Neogames 2009)• Finnish Game Industry Strategy 2010-2015 (Neogames 2010)• Survey on Game Industry and studios in Southeast Finland• Game Education in Finland 2008 (Neogames 2008) Need for new initiatives to actively develop the industry
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry HubDistribution of Game Companies in FinlandSource: Neogames
Background
Key areas for the initiatives• Business & process development, expert services for game studios• Funding for projects & demos• Publishing & distribution development• PR & Marketing• Education development & research
Results 2011: > 5 M€ worth of EU-funded projects into boosting games industry and start-ups, research and education
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Initiatives
Game Cluster –project in Southern Finland 2012 - 2014• Publishing and Distribution Development• Internationalization, Business & Process Development• Research Forum and Game Business Research• Game Education Development• Learning, Testing and Dev Environments• PR, Marketing, Events
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Results
Development environments• Meduusa Game Studio – Kyamk University of Applied Sciences• Playa LevelUp – Kotka and Lappeenranta• Hardware and software for Game Development• Mobile devices for Game Testing Co-working space for start-ups Learning environment, real-world projects
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Results
Playa Launchpad – support in several key areas• Legal & IPR• Quality Assurance• Game Design• Publishing• Game Executive Training 20+ game studios involved in operations Enabled funding, improved workflow and increased competences,
tuned publishing processes and made games better
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Results
International B2B & Investor Events• Game Connection & GDC America, 2013 & 2014• Game Connection Europe, 2012 & 2013• Gamescom & GDC Europe 2012 & 2013• Nordic Game, 2013 & 2014• Investor events held in London, Singapore, New York & Helsinki 15+ different studios & service providers attended through Playa 500+ meetings + new contacts + networks Several publishing deals + projects + funding
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Results
Marketing & PR• Active presence in social media• Website – www.playahub.com • Marketing material• Print media coverage• Video footage & marketing trailers• Community: IGDA Finland & local hubs Improved visibility for all stakeholders Indirect result: a movie about the game industry!
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Results
Some of the companies that have been founded during the project
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
PLAYCO
A look back
Development
Everything else• Financing, Cash Flow, Budgeting• Legal• Marketing• Internationalization• User Acquisition• Monetization• Servers & Hosting• Metrics & Analytics•
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub
Change in market!
F2P
Game Cluster –project ends…
… June 30th 2014
We need new initiatives –
the industry is constantly evolving!
More presentations on selected topics will follow next!
THANK YOU!
16.6.2014 Playa Game Industry Hub