Netherlands games industry
Now worth nearly a billion Euros, reckons developer trade body.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UTRECHT, The Netherlands - May 7, 2008 - The NLGD today announced that The Netherlands games industry has become a nearly 1 billion Euro industry as it continues to grow within the 30 billion Euro worldwide game development sector. In 2007, the Dutch games industry exceeded the revenue of the Dutch film industry for the first time. The growth of the games industry is enormous in the Netherlands with the sector growing 50% faster than any other industry in the region.
The number of people in the Netherlands working in game development is estimated at 1,500 and more than 100 companies earn money through video game development and production.
According to the NLGD, a significant part of the revenues in the Netherlands are from serious games, a part of the industry in which the Dutch are a significant player.
"The remarkable success of the Dutch game industry can be attributed to the significant interest in game-related research, education and science in the Netherlands," said Seth van der Meer, Chairman of the NLGD Foundation.
For 2008, van der Meer expects Dutch revenues in this industry to grow to 1.2 billion Euros and the number of jobs to increase to 1,800, a 20 percent increase in revenue and workers. Furthermore, he believes at least 10 Dutch-created games for the major platforms (Wii, PlayStation and Xbox) to hit store shelves worldwide.
To support the growing game industry and provide a forum for leadership and discussion, the NLGD foundation has organized the Festival of Games, June 14-22. Those interested in finding out more about this exciting and expanding field are invited to attend.
For more information on the Festival of Games check: www.nlgd.nl
About NLGD Foundation
The NLGD Foundation is a European cross-disciplinary platform, the European hub to synergy, vision and inspiration in the games industry. The main goal of the NLGD Foundation is to stimulate the Dutch games industry and to position this industry internationally. In order to accomplish this, the NLGD Foundation offers room to all disciplines within the games industry that work either directly or indirectly with serious- or entertainment games. Included herein are publishers, developer, but also research organizations, educational institutions and trade and industry. Another goal of the NLGD Foundation is therefore to bring together various perspectives on games. With its activities the NLGD Foundation attracts visitors from all over the world.
About Festival of Games
The Festival of Games is one of the largest professional game festivals in Europe; it sets the stage for the fast growing European game market.
The Festival of Games consists of a main thought leader conference, workshops, a professional expo with a career fair and a serious connection. The event is a platform and a meeting point for the European games community. The festival harnesses Europe's creative power and gives an insight in the unique European approach. Industry, academic and business leaders share and combine their opinions and visions.
The NLGD Festival of Games takes place from June 14-22, 2008, in Utrecht, The Netherlands. For more information, visit the NLGD website at: www.nlgd.nl
NLGD Contact:
Alessandra van Otterlo
Event Manager
+31 6 12 42 6884
alessandra@nlgd.nl