Meeting Report :05/06/2009

International Game Developers Association

IGDA Vietnam Chapter's first meeting

Introduction

From left to right: Interpreter; Mr. Son Nguyen; Miss Camille Chatelier; Mr. Fabien Lotz; Miss Nguyen Thi Diem Khoa; Mr. Nam Nguyen; Mr. Allan Simonsen; Mr. Sebastien Auligny; Journalist; Journalist; Mr. V. Hung; Mr. Đặng Ngọc Hồ; Mr. Nguyen Khanh

On Friday 5th June 2009 was held the second meeting of the IGDA Vietnam Chapter at Polytechnic University of Ho Chi Minh City.

The IGDA meeting was the first of its kind in Ho Chi Minh City. It gathered together students, journalists from renowned newspapers, industrial experts, key market players and academic representatives who shared their experiences in developing video games as well as discussing the business perspective and the gaming trends in Vietnam.

The seminar featured Allan Simonsen, coordinator of IGDA Singapore; Mr. Đặng Ngọc Hồ, NIIT representative; Mr. Phung Viet Hung, Production manager of Gameloft Vietnam; Sebastien Auligny, General Manager of Gameloft Saigon and Manila; Mr. Trung Nguyen Khanh from Vinagame; and Mr. Nam Nguyen, C.T.O of GlassEgg Digital Media.

This event was a good opportunity to get a complete overview of the Video Game Industry in Vietnam, to learn more about the new trends and market perspectives, to introduce the key market players and careers to the audience, and to reinforce the game developers’ community to develop a “clean and green” image of the gaming industry in order to convince the government to be more supportive.

The presentations have also demonstrated the importance of the Vietnamese Video Game sector, thanks to a skilled and inexpensive labor force, a large youth population, a dynamic market and up to date facilities. Today, the Video Game Industry employs around 3.000 people working as Game Producer, Designer, Artist, Programmer, Animator, Sound technician or Game Tester, and the demand is growing.

Analysts forecast the number of users playing online games in Vietnam to exceed 10 million by 2011, driven by rising incomes, increasing PC and Internet penetration rates, and a large population of youth that are actively seeking out entertainment content. In the same time, the last three years have seen Vietnam's mobile phone market grow beyond the 8% average growth rate of the economy and registering highest growth rates of mobile users globally. For all these reasons, Vietnam has become a strategic place for international game developers, in term of recruitment, business and production opportunities, as well as revenue.

IGDA Presentation

Allan Simonsen, coordinator of IGDA Singapore.

Attendees.

The meeting started with our guest from Singapore, Allan Simonsen, who introduced IGDA to the audience and to the reporters who were present to cover the event.
He gave us some concrete examples to illustrate the IGDA and its members in action:

Extensive opportunities to network with other professionals and connect with peers through Chapters, Events/Parties, SIGs, Forums, LinkedIn and private group.
Exploring and addressing significant issues within the industry affecting game development, such as Recognition of Talent, Diversity, etc.
Offerings for professional development and educational programs via SIGs, Leadership Forum.
Influencing regulations and public perceptions that affect the medium of games (Anti-Censorship Advocacy, Speakers Bureau).
Access to the most up to date and in-depth information with the White Papers, Wiki Knowledge Base, Columns/Articles.
Providing standards and guidelines that help evolve the industry.

Topic Presentation.

Sebastien Auligny presenting the mobile game industry.

The first part of the meeting was dedicated to general presentations focusing on the Asian Video Game sector, and the specificities of the Vietnamese market.
Allan Simonsen gave us some insights into the Asian Video Game Industry,emphasized on the major differences and similarities between the different markets.
Right after, Mr. Đặng Ngọc Hồ from NIIT presented the specificities of the Video Game Industry in Vietnam and the current situation of “education & training” that is serving the game development resource needs.
Then, Mr. Viet Hung explained the organization of a video game development team and the role of each team-member.

After the tea-break, Sebastien Auligny opened the second part of the meeting with a presentation about Gameloft activity and the Mobile Game Industry. Then, Nguyen Khanh Trung introduced Vinagame Game Studio North (GSN) team and products. The last presentation, performed by Nam Nguyen, focused on art asset outsourcing in the game industry.
At the end of the meeting took place a funny quiz game about video game domain and the local market. All attendees got T-shirts from Gameloft and Vinagame, raincoats from VDC, pens and key chains, Video games DVD, and many other goodies.