Surely you still remember the poll that we did a few weeks ago about Founder/CEO and Startup of the Year 2011? If you notice, this year we are much impressed with the many activities in the gaming industry in Indonesia, especially for mobile and social gaming.
There are a lot of activities from the companies like Agate Studio, Touchten, Nightspade, Forging Labs, Garuda Games, Games Guava, Cantigiarina, and many other local companies specialized in making games. Not to mention foreign companies like Gameloft and Gree, making their ways into the Indonesian market.
From here it seems clear enough that the gaming industry in Indonesia is growing rapidly. The market is big enough for games producers and players.
Older industry players might be upset because many new players who take advantage of the hype without producing a great game will be coming. However in the end the one who will win is the one who is capable of translating the will of consumers, combining the fantasy, challenge and technology. This deadly combination is hard to find, and sometimes everything is just an intuition.
Monetization is now becoming a separate issue. How these game companies can make money is certainly an important factor to determine the on/off a company. Advertising model is the most popular model for Indonesia market, although there are companies like Touchten who earned tens of millions of dollars from their sales outside the Indonesian market.
Many companies still choose the best platform to distribute the game. Some of them are doing “porting” here and there in order to maximize the distribution of their game. It’s good to see the targeted niche market regardless whether it’s for Facebook, Flash, iOS, Android, Java, Symbian, MeeGo, etc. The suitability between user behaviour and the gameplay is also tailored with the specific user platform character.
I strongly believe that in 2012, there will be a rise of the local games companies and they would be busy penetrating local and international market. Only a matter of creativity, originality and of course winning business plan to ensure the company’s growth. Many gaming companies surfaced lately and many more will come next year. They are ready for plenty investment but for those who are not able to develop soon will die.
