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MANILA : Game developers in the Philippines are eyeing a slice of the global game development industry, which is expected to grow rapidly in the next couple of years.
Although the Philippines is still a relatively new player in the game development outsourcing industry, Filipino game developers are confident that the country can become the ultimate game development hub in Southeast Asia.
Recognising the country's potential, Australian game development company Matahari Studios set up shop in Manila two years ago.
Eric Marlow, general manager, Matahari Studios Philippines, said: "When you make games, you have to try things that have not been done before. You need to find a culture that is not afraid of taking risks.
"With regards to the culture, this also represents a little bit of crossroads between the West and the East. So one of the big advantage of working here is that the local game developers have (an) appreciation and understanding of both types of games."
Over 20 game development companies employ about 400 game developers in the Philippines. To attract more clients from the United States and Europe, local firms are now doing shared bids for major development projects.
Gabby Dizon, president and CEO, Flipside Game Studios, said: "We are still small... and the industry is big enough that it does not make sense to compete with each other or try to bring each other down, because there is so much more work out there than we could compete for, so what we should do is cooperate with each other in bringing in more work to the Philippines."
Filipino game developers are also producing original games for the global market.
Anino Games produced the first Filipino-made computer game in 2003, which won an award in the Independent Games Festival in 2004.
Niel Dagondon, CEO, Anino Games, said: "The games that we are trying to do fits into the market that we are going to release the game in. We are slowly introducing parts of our culture into our game."
Last year, the global game development industry recorded US$7.4 billion in revenues, and this is expected to go up to US$12.5 billion in 2010. - CNA/ms
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