April submissions for the NG19 Free Pass Challenge are now closed. Thanks for your participation!
Each month we select the best answer for our NG19 Free Pass Challenge. Winners receive a complimentary pass to this year’s Nordic Game conference, 22-24 May at Slagthuset in Malmö, Sweden – and then a new monthly challenge begins.
March’s challenge was: New markets and regions around the world open up for both players and for game developers with rapid growth. What are the most interesting new regions and emergent markets in the world right now, and how we can help them prosper at the same time as we find more players to cater to?
We received lots of great answers (thank you!), but in the end the best reply came from Kristian Mols Rasmussen from Audacity Interactive in Denmark:
“I would have to say Latin America. Things are moving incredibly fast over there, and YoY growth surpassed that of Asia in 2016. From a business perspective, that is just juicy. It’s also somewhat more merciful than parts of Asia in terms of localisation barriers.
From a creative point, it is incredibly exciting to have cultural influences that supplement the now dominant storytelling traditions of Europe, Japan and the US. With the modern distribution channels for video games that are, despite it all, much more accessible than those of movies and other visual media, I hope to see some truly different stories emerge in the coming years.
There are several things the global games ecosystem could do to help the region prosper. Payment options are still limited in parts of the region and the online stores could help the region by allowing something a bit more old-fashioned than credit cards. Also, those shops could highlight the region (and other emerging markets). This is already somewhat happening (as with the Steam curator system), but it could be expanded.
Finally, funding providers are traditionally more skeptical of the region than the more developed markets. One way to help alleviate this could be platforms that allow for easier partnerships between studios and publishers based in North America & Europe and the region. This is a common practice in venture capital that should expand into games.”
Also getting a free NG19 pass is Frank Duffner, an industry consultant based in Thailand, who came with April’s best challenge suggestion. A big congrats to this month’s winners – your confirmation emails are on their way and see you at NG19 in May!
April’s NG19 Free Pass Challenge is: At GDC, Google introduced its much awaited cloud gaming platform Stadia, including special sharing and assistance features and deep YouTube integration.
How will cloud streaming be integrated further into games and services and what other benefits will it bring in the future for both players and developers?
Send your answer here before this month’s deadline: midnight Tuesday, 30 April!
PS: Send in suggestions for next month’s challenge as well – the best proposal will also win a free pass to NG19!
About the Nordic Game conference
Nordic Game is the leading games conference in Europe, and 2019 will be its sixteenth year. Gathering over 2,000 games industry professionals in Malmö annually, Nordic Game is the one and only “home turf” meeting place for the highly successful game developers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Learn more about Nordic Game 2019, 22-24 May at Slagthuset in Malmö, Sweden at conf.nordicgame.com.
