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nikoOutsourcedDevelopmentofGamesinChinaMs.ZhouFangPartnerNikoPartnersnikoNikoPartners:WhoWeAre!PublishedresearchstudiesonChina’svideogameindustrysince2003!OfficesinSiliconValleyandShanghai!TrackChina’ssupply&demandforgames,gamehardwareandoutsourceddevelopment!Annuallysurveythousandsofpeople:retailers,gamers,developers,onlineoperators,regulators,distributors,publishers,tradeassociations,hardwaremakers!Collectednearly70,000pointsofdatain2007!Publishsyndicatedreportsandcustomsurveys!Alsoconductfocusgroups,marketingroadshows,prospectivepartnerintroductions,competitiveanalysis,marketopportunityanalysis,andmoreniko2007OutsourcedDevelopmentofGamesinChinaReport!Surveyed150Chineseoutsourcingstudiostomatchcertainsupplycriteria!33matched:developinternationalgamesandhave10employees!All33areinthereport’sdirectoryofstudios!Surveyed166developersandpublishersbasedinNorthAmericatomeasuredemand!DemandsurveywasdoneincooperationwithGameDeveloperResearch!Wroteanalysisonthesupplyanddemandfindings,plusstudioprofilesforthedirectorynikoChinaisAlreadytheCenterofVideoGameOutsourcing!Ofthe166respondentsinNorthAmerica!76%alreadyuseoutsourcingservices!30%ofthesealreadyoutsourcetoChina!Thisnumberisrising,andoutpacesallotherregionsIn2006,didyououtsourceworktoChina?29.6%70.4%YesNoSource:NikoPartnersandGameDeveloperResearch2007nikoSnapshotofChina’sGamesOutsourcingStudios!Note:wefocusonstudiosthatdointernationalgamesoutsourcingwork,asopposedtoworkfordomesticgames!Fastgrowingsector,consolidationofstudios,demandformoredevelopers!Demandoutpacessupply!LaunchingpadforfuturedomesticgamedevelopmentstudiosnikoOutsourcingAddstoChina’sGameIndustryRevenue!DemandforgamesinChinaresultedin2006revenueofUS$1.07billion(+70%over2005)!Onlinerevenuewas$995millionofthattotal!Revenuegrowthexpectedtobe30%in‘07,26%in‘08,and19%CAGR2006-2011!2007revenuefromoutsourcingofinternationalgamesinChinamayexceed$35million!Thisrevenueisadditionaltothe$1.07billion!2007isthefirstyearNikohasestimatedamarketsizeforoutsourcingnikoMarketsizeofoutsourcingstudiosforinternationalgames!300totaloutsourcingstudios,includingthosefordomesticgames,includingverysmallstudios,excludingthosefocusedonmobilegames!20largestudiosfocusedoninternationalgames(morethan50staff)!Perhaps50studiosforinternationalgamesintotal!33studioswereselectedbyNikoforourdirectoryfrom150surveyed!Nearlyallofthe33reportedstaffincreasesofabout50%since2006nikoDemandOutpacingSupply!Outsourcingneedscontinuetorisethankstonext-genconsolegamesthatcost$10-15milliontodevelop!Requirementisforexcellentqualityatalowercostthancanbefoundathome!Locationofthestudioislessimportant!Roughly75%ofglobalpublishersanddevelopershavestartedoutsourcingtheirwork!SupplyistightbecausedevelopmenttalentisstillscarceinChina,thoughthatischangingnikoArtisOutsourcedMostOften,ManyReasonstoOutsource!Supplementinternalstaff!Savecosts!Reduceprojectturnaroundtime!Seekspecializedskillsets,suchasaudioWhattypeofdevelopmentworkdoyououtsource(Multipleanswersprovided)?020406080100120ArtProgrammingQADesignAudioSource:NikoPartnersandGameDeveloperResearch2007nikoHugeGamerBaseFeedsDevelopmentTalentPool!37.5milliongamersin2006,risingto44.4millionin2007(90%onlinegamers)!Fromthisvastpoolhasemergedatleast10,000individualswhoworkingameoutsourcingstudiosonforeignprojects!Vastmajorityofthemaremid-20s,male,hard-coregamers,playallplatforms,playathomeandinInternetcafésnikoChinaComparedtoOtherOutsourcingCountries!OthermajorglobalcentersareRussia,Brazil,EasternEurope,India,andCostaRica!Chinahasthemoststudiosandfastestgrowthcomparedwithotherregions!Canadian,AmericanandWesternEuropeanstudiosareoftenused,butnotforcost-cuttingnikoPlatformsforInternationalGamesvs.DomesticGames!Outsourcingprojectsareforconsolegames,next-genconsolegames,somePCofflinegames,handheldsandsomeonlinegames!Incontrast,thedomesticprojectsarealmostentirelyonlinegamesnikoStrengthsandWeaknesses!Strength:Art!Morethan75%ofoutsourcingprojectstoChinesestudiosareartandanimationoriented,somostofthedevelopersareartists!Weakness:Design!Veryfewprojectsarefordesignworkofanentiregame!Otherareas:QA,testing,porting,generalprogrammingnikoInherentOutsourcingRisks!Communicationswillleadtomisunderstanding!Suchas“cutestyle”animationmaymeansomethingdifferenttodifferentpeople!Intellectualpropertywillbecompromised!Allstudiosincorporateprotectivemeasures!Useofunlicenseddevelopmenttools!Insertionofunwantedcontent!MostlikelythiswouldbedoneinadvertentlynikoCriteriaforStudiosDiffer,butSomePointsareConstant!Reliabilityofexcellentquality,on-timedelivery!RespectforIPprotection,useoflegallicenses!Communicationsskillsandprocess!Fairfeesandfeestructure!Plentyofstaff,experiencedmanagement!ExcellentreferencesfrompastcustomersnikoStaffingRequirementsofPublishers!Projectteamrequirementsvarybyprojectscope!45%ofdemandsurveyrespondentsrequiretotalstaffofstudiotobeatleast11-50people,eveniftheirprojectrequiresfewerdevelopersnikoDevelopmentTools!CustomersprovidethestudiosSDKs,developmentmachinesandtoolsfortheirprojects!Ifnecessary,enginesareprovidedastheyaret