What is the common point between the gaming companies Gameloft and Ubisoft Bigpoint? All are located in Brazil. This country has only 42 companies and only 560 employees in the video game industry (study Abragam 2008), yet rapid growth continues to surprise.
In 2010, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the video game market in Brazil weighed 392 million (274 million), or 0.7% of the world: in 2005, it was only $ 157 million (110 million), or an average annual growth rate of 20%. Brazil is the second largest market in Latin America, behind Mexico (604 million euros in 2010) and ahead of Argentina (88 million the same year). Although the Asia-Pacific remains the area with the strongest growth (+ 11.8% per year expected by 2015), Latin America than Europe and the U.S. (according to forecasts Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011-2015). The situation seems so perfect for the video game, but this growth is experiencing major obstacles.
Piracy is often cited as the main obstacle, since, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Brazil would join France in the top of the list of video game piracy. In 2009, the Brazilian firm Tectoy Zeebo then launched a fourth-generation console technology including 3G and to download games paying considered more difficult to hack. Extended to other Latin American countries, it will also be available in China this year. However, this barrier seems to be a symptom of a more complex situation.
James Portnow, director of the American studio Rainmaker Games evokes amazement the prohibitive price of video games: "The games released in the U.S. six months ago are sold officially for 250 reals, or about 140 dollars (98 euros). All the consoles that I 'I saw were sold one and a half or two times more expensive in the United States. " Indeed, in 2009, taxes amounted to 233% of the import price for a game: a prize as 85% of the population can not afford the expense.
Thus, nearly 90% of games that players come through unofficial channels. James Portnow said: "The shops sell pirated games between 2.80 and 8.50 dollars (between 1.96 and 5.95 euros) and offer better services. I have heard people say that the sellers let them buy a game and return it for exchange after a few days if they do not like him. This is the type of service I would like the United States. "
GAME quest for international respect
The game is gradually gaining its entries in the academic and artistic spheres, but the looks on their practice are not provided free of anxiety and even some "pathologizing". In 2008, three games were banned from sale in the Brazilian territory: the shooter Counter-Strike, play online role-playing EverQuest, or Bully, Rockstar's studio ... Although the reasons for these bans vary for each title, the judges refer primarily a concern about the violent content of the games and their potential effects on the players. On the site Gamasutra, a game creator Brazilian responds: "Video games arrive in Brazil in ways different from the legal market. The 'game culture' is so often associated with underground culture, even in the crime."
To fight against this negative image, the AIT Games Association has embarked on a project called Jogo Justo, which aims to deconstruct stereotypes video games through debates and conferences. The association and the supporting businesses are also trying to alert the public about the extremely high taxes applied to video games: the end of May, they held a sale of games on different platforms at rock-bottom prices, or $ 99 ( 69 euros). The promotion appears unattractive, and that's what Jogo Justo said: at this price, the game is considered "free": the buyer pays only the taxes applied to the product.
At the same time, cultural events around the game seem to multiply: the SBGames, for example, is one of the biggest events in Brazil in this area and this, among others, independent creation, prototypes, art and games. Conferences, Game Jam, concerts, or role-play: most of these festivals (BGShow, Game Music Brasil, RPG Con ...) attract tens of thousands of visitors. This success could promote awareness of the problems currently facing Brazil, despite its amazing growth.
Indeed, according to PwC, the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are one of the first geographical areas of growth for the media industry and recreation. By 2015, they will experience annual growth of 11.7% against 3.9% for the so-called "mature" (USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan). James Portnow, today we must invest in projects in Brazil. But he quickly tempered: "This is a place where you can lose money very easily. (...) Things still look like the Wild West for at least five years. On the other hand, companies can test the waters cheaply, and if things go well, the little money invested can be turned into a very large sum in the near future. "
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