Game on for Liverpool’s video gaming sector
Source: Liverpool Post
Alistair Houghton hears how city’s small video games firms are finding independence.
Youmay have to “buy your own tea and toilet paper” when you set up your own video games firm – but it’s worth it for the creative freedom.
That was the view from the stage at the latest showcase for the region’s independent games firms, who are bidding to take a slice of the growing casual gaming market.
The region has long had a strong video gaming presence, with the world-famous Psygnosis studio becoming part of the Sony empire and the growth of Speke’s Bizarre Creations.
But the rise of the smartphone has changed the face of the gaming market, with small, nimble “indie” firms now able to make games quickly and sell them cheaply through online markets such as Apple’s App Store.
As Sony has shed some staff, and with the closure of Bizarre last year, many Merseyside video game professionals have taken the decision to strike out on their own.
And at the Game Up-Game On event, organised by creative support agency Merseyside ACME, some of those people shared their stories of life outside the industry’s big beasts.
Ivan Davies, owner and founder of games outsourcing firm Catalyst, said: “The good side (of being an indie) is that you live and die by your own decisions.
“Working for a big games company, you have to go to so many different people to get a yes. In a small start-up you can respond a lot more quickly – you don’t have to go and seek permission for your work.
“The other side is that you have to buy your own tea and toilet paper.”
The ACME debate, held at Leaf Cafe in Bold Street, was chaired by Phil Gaskell, of Liverpool publisher RebelPlay.
Big studios, said Phil, are far from dead, as shown by the success of recent blockbusters such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
He added: “There’s a place for them (big studios), but their business models are being disrupted.”
That disruption, panellists said, was due to the explosive growth of the mobile gaming market. More people are now playing games than ever before – but their hardware of choice is a smartphone rather than a console.
Chris Grannell, of Liverpool software company Red Ninja, said: “Games are seen as more accessible now. Hardcore gamers were referred to as geeks. But now you find more and more people playing games – because Apple created a platform the majority of people have in their pocket.”
Phil added: “Apple has sold games to people who weren’t gamers.”
Ivan said: “My wife never played games – now she’ll spend three hours playing on an iPhone. But she doesn’t see herself as a videogamer.”
Chris said another challenge of the iPhone games market was the low price of games, meaning developers had to sell a huge number of games to make any money.
Phil reminded the audience that Finnish company Rovio created dozens of less successful games before releasing Angry Birds, which became a massive hit. Developers in the audience crossed their fingers and hoped they would find success more quickly.
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