SHANGHAI--()--A global outsourcing trend has resulted in a boom in the Chinese online game outsourcing market, an industry official told Interfax in a recent interview.
“An increasing number of high quality domestically developed online games have emerged on the market, thanks to the development of local talent trained through outsourcing projects”
"A rising demand for high-quality games, resulting from upgraded computer hardware and operating systems, has pushed game companies in North America and Europe to outsource their projects to alleviate huge labor costs," Ming Haoxia, the secretary general of the Shanghai Multimedia Industry Association (SMIA), said.
"Only a few foreign brands, like Japan's KONAMI and France's UbiSoft, were operating outsourcing businesses in China in 2004. The number of Chinese outsourcing companies has surged over the past five years," Ming continued.
There are currently around 200 Chinese online game outsourcing companies in Shanghai alone. Of these, middle-sized companies have, on average, a workforce of 200 people. Roughly a quarter of these companies secure projects directly from foreign outsourcers, and the rest of them obtain projects through brokers.
Game outsourcing was once considered a low value sector, but this is no longer the case. It is now "optimizing" the country's online game industry chain. To meet global standards, local outsourcing companies have had to expand and excel in various specialization areas, including artwork, production, massively multi-player online (MMO) flash animation and sound effects.
"Despite the economic downturn, the industry performed well in 2009," Ming said. He expects industry revenues to grow from 30 to 50 percent among middle and large sized players in 2010.
"An increasing number of high quality domestically developed online games have emerged on the market, thanks to the development of local talent trained through outsourcing projects," Ming explained. "Outsourcing has expanded the entire industry's capacity for creativity."
The first China Game Outsourcing Conference (CGOC) will be held in July 2010 to promote industry development at home and abroad, Han Zhi Hai, general secretary of the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy) Organizing Committee told Interfax.
The online game industry has grown rapidly since 2006, when it grew by 60 percent. The industry went on to grow by 70.77 percent in 2007, and 52.2 percent year-on-year in revenue terms to RMB 20.78 billion ($3.04 billion) in 2008, according to figures released by China Internet Network Information Center.
Revenues generated by online games reached nearly RMB 25.8 billion ($3.78 billion) in 2009, up 39.5 percent on an annual basis, according to Ministry of Culture figures.
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The first China Game Outsourcing Conference (CGOC), co-organized by Howell International Trade Fair Ltd. and Shanghai Multimedia Industry Association, will take place at Shanghai International Conference Center simultaneously with ChinaJoy 2010. With an aim to provide a platform for the Chinese game outsourcing Industry to communicate and exchange nationally and internationally, the first CGOC is composed of seminars and business negotiations. The conference will not only provide an opportunity to share experience but also facilitate a direct communication between the outsourcing suppliers and buyers, which will practically promote the development of the game outsourcing industry. CGOC will become another major industry event following CGBC (China Game Business Conference) and CGDC (China Game Developers Conference).
China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy) is the world’s largest digital entertainment expo focusing on such online entertainment as online game, SNS and social game. The expo also showcases various games on PC, console and mobile platform. Each year, ChinaJoy attracts over 100,000 high-end gamers and over 500 media participants. Over 10,000 trade visitors from nearly 30 countries and regions come here to explore partnership opportunities.
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