The Finnish game industry is a true success story and keeps
growing rapidly. Titles like Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, Alan Wake and Trials
have sold phenomenally and are constantly followed by new game companies and
great products.
Finland has become an interesting opportunity for many
international gaming companies and game know-how has also started attract International
publishers to Finland. Good news from Finland published recently an article
telling about the European-Japanese Playground Publishing seeking growth by
expanding to Finland.
— Finland is currently one of the most interesting places in
the international game scene, says Maarten Noyons, CEO of Playground.
According to Wilhelm Taht, Chief Operating Officer of
Playground the reason for successful Finnish game developers are:
1) Great
technical knowledge
The educational infrastructure around engineering is amazing
and Finns love computers and mobile phones.
2) Public
funding
Public funding has traditionally been geared towards
building things as opposed to promoting things. This makes a great set-up for a
strong developer scene.
3) Strong demo
scene
There is an abundance of talent that arises from this
buzzing scene combining audio and moving images.
4) Nokia’s
demise and its great Bridge programme
A great deal of strong technical knowledge is available in
the market. This affects not only game development but also the tech
entrepreneur scene in general.
5) Change in
mentality towards entrepreneurship
It’s now OK and ‘cool’ to have your own company and be in
charge of your own destiny.
6) Inflow of
venture capital
Because of the games talent bred in Finland and the strong
community element, Finland is one of the most interesting places to look at
from a venture capital investment perspective.
7) Inspiration –
success breeds success
Rovio and Supercell have been amazing global phenomena. That
doesn't mean that everyone can be as successful as them, but they are an
amazing source of inspiration for entrepreneurs in this industry.
Hopefully US publishers would also find out these opportunities that Finnish gaming industry has to offer. We are just waiting for the news telling that American gaming industry companies are coming to Finland!
Read the article about Playground Publishing here.
