Courtesy
of © www.hollandtrade.com 2013
Via: NOM - Investment
and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands – Serious Games: A
Serious Matter For The North
The large scale adoption of Serious Games implies
disrupting the status quo - in other words, a step change as opposed to a linear one.
According to management guru Richard Pascale,
discontinuity is more successfully promoted and sustained when disruptive changes are
aligned at personal, social and institutional levels. In this context, alignment stands for linking organizational goals with team and personal goals.
Hard evidence points to The Netherlands as the
current global benchmark in aligning those three spheres of influence in support
of Serious Games large scale adoption.
A Few Value Metrics
According to the recently released PwC's annual Global
Entertainment and Media Outlook 2014-2018, the global aggregate spending on video
games in 2013 was US$ 66.0 billion.The double digit CAGR experienced in previous years
shall no longer be achieved, but with 6.2% CAGR being forecast up to 2018 bringing
total video games revenues to US$ 89.0 billion the game industry still has a huge
potential.
The Dutch game industry is keeping pace with
the global trend in the sector. According to Games Monitor 2012, the game
industry - one of the top nine business sectors in The Netherlands - has roughly
doubled since the last survey in 2010. Its growth is about 50% higher than any
other industry in the Netherlands' region. Generating between US$ 200-300
million each year, it employs more than 3,000 people, mostly in smaller
companies: 70 percent of them employ five or fewer people and approximately 10
companies employ 50 people or more.
While the market for entertainment games is
dominated by foreign companies, Dutch firms are excelling in the Serious Games
Market.
As reported by Control
Magazine based on Games Monitor 2012 findings, "The Netherlands house 330
game companies, with 57% involved in the production of Serious Games, while 44
Percent of the Dutch game industry is exclusively dedicated To Serious
Games" (often called Applied Games by the Dutch Serious Games community). This percentage
is significantly higher than in any other national game industry and Dutch
studios are considered international market leaders in Serious Games.
It is notable that the Dutch game industry
places the emphasis on Serious Games. Whereas Serious Games account for 10 to 15
percent of turnover in the sector worldwide, in The Netherlands the ratio is
roughly fifty-fifty.
In the Northern Netherlands the focus on Serious
Games is even sharper: entertainment games are only made to a small extent.
The education sector has responded to these
trends by developing courses and curricula to support the development in the gaming
sector.
At the higher education level, students at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences can take the Game Design
& Development program, and a Game Development specialization has been set
up at NHL Leeuwarden. Festivals and competitions are organized and there is a
monthly game industry get-together. In order to provide support for the
companies, the education sector, public authorities and organizations with an
interest in the development of Serious Games such as the Police, University
Medical Center Groningen and the publishing company Noordhoff Uitgevers have
created the GameAcademy. This initiative is supported by European funding.
Although the sector has not been given the
status of northern spearheads such as energy, water, healthy ageing or
agrifood, the growth potential is recognized by all, including NOM (Investment
and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands). Serious Games are found
in industry, defense, shipbuilding, but also in softer sectors such as
education and healthcare. Given the attention being paid to the spearhead
Healthy Ageing, there are certainly opportunities for the North in the latter
sector.
According to Albert Sikkema, GameAcademy Director, the game industry is on the verge of a breakthrough. “The
beginning of April was an important milestone in this context”, he says. “The
GameAcademy has convened a meeting for the highest level of the northern
business community. We are looking to connect these companies to the game
developers, starting off with the larger organizations such as Gasunie,
the NAM, FrieslandCampina and UMCG. They have the most options open to work on
new developments. After that, the use of Serious Games could fan out to the
small- and medium-sized business sector. But those companies will have to give
the nod and place orders, otherwise the game industry will not get the boost it
needs to rise above first division level.”
“The education and healthcare sectors have
recognized the possibilities offered by Serious Games as an instrument for
improving skills, but that is less true for the business community”, adds Thijs
Helfrich, founder of Wildsea in Leeuwarden. That is where the sector will have
to start making its money.”
Find more at Serious
Games 2013-2014 • by Control Magazine