The output value of Taiwan’s mobile game industry could increase by 70 percent this year as the market continues to grow, a manager with the Taipei Computer Association said last Sunday. With the growing popularity of smart phones and tablet computers, Wu Wen-jung predicted that the mobile game sector would continue its rapid growth in 2015 with production value reaching NT$15 billion (US$473.7 million) in 2015, a significant rise from the NT$8.8 billion in the previous year.
The output value of Taiwan’s game industry was NT$50.6 billion last year, up 11.7 percent from NT$45.3 billion in 2013. Mobile games in particular saw a significant annual growth of 226 percent, Wu said, citing figures from the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute, a division of the government-sponsored Institute for Information Industry. Wu, who is also a curator for the annual Taipei Game Show which closed Sunday, said the growing popularity of mobile games was evident in this year’s Show. Close to 200 exhibitors, most of them mobile developers, had set up 1,471 booths this year, an increase from the 950 booths last year, he said.
The five-day show ended up drawing a 13-year high of 430,000 visitors. Growth in mobile games and competition from Chinese companies has impacted traditional online game developers in Taiwan, Wu said. But Taiwan still has a competitive edge as it has many creative independent game developers and a respect for intellectual property rights, he said.
The Taipei Game Show’s Indie Game Festa section, which showcases products by independent developers, saw 10 times more business talks this year than last year, he said. The output value of Taiwan’s game industry is among the world’s 10 top game producing countries, meaning there is a lot of potential for the island in the future, Wu said.
First published at focustaiwan.tw
