COLOGNE, GERMANY AUGUST 17-21
AL-Invest IV Programme. Facilitating the Internationalization of Latin American SMEs. This publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Nacional Financiera, S.N.C., and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
Cologne - Germany, August 17-21 Mexican companies catalogue.
Business Meetings Gamescom 2011
AL-INVEST IV CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO & CUBA
WHAT IS THE AL-INVEST IV PROGRAMME? The AL-INVEST Program is one of the most important Regional Economic Cooperation Programs of the European Commission in Latin America.
Phase II (2000-2004), and Phase III (2004-2008). Phase IV of this Program began in January 2009.
The Program is based on the shared values and common strategic interests that exist between the European Union and Latin America. But it also exists because the European Union is an important political, economic, commercial and financial partner for Latin America.
OBJECTIVES
The AL-INVEST Program is part of the development Policy of the European Union, established under the European Consensus on Development, and is based on the objectives of: poverty reduction; sustainable economic and social development; and the progressive and harmonious integration of developing countries into the world economy. AL-INVEST is a pioneering Programme of the European Commission that began its activities in 1994, with a pilot phase, at the time in which market liberalisation policies were beginning to facilitate international trade expansion. So far there have been three phases: Phase I (1995-1999),
The general aim of phase IV of the AL-INVEST program is to contribute to the social cohesion, through support to the strengthening and internationalisation of Latin American Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), and the exchange of innovations, knowledge and economic relations with their European counterpart companies. More specifically, this Program wants to contribute to Latin American SMEs becoming the local development engine, taking advantage of: globalisation opportunities; regional integration; commercial agreements; and business cooperation with Europe.
VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY
MÉXICO A FEW FACTS
Mexico Statistics 2011
- It is the fifth largest country in America. - One of the 18 mega bio-diverse countries of the world. - One of the world’s most diverse weather systems. - The most populous Spanish speaking country in the world. - Its estimated population is 111 million. - The economy of Mexico is the 11th largest in the world.
8.7% PS3 36.0% XBOX, XBOX 360 9.0% PS2
11.0% Wii
PLATFORMS SHARE
STATISTICS MEXICAN GAMERS
statistics mexico 2011
- The average age is 35 years of age - 40% are women - 59% are willing to spend between $160 to $320 for a videogame system. - 20% are hardcore (play everyday) - 40% spend 3 to 1 day per week playing games - 55% prefers single player games - 13% plays online games
The Big players with presence in Mexico are: - Microsoft - Sony - Nintendo (Latamel Inc.) - Digital Chocolate
- Activision Blizzard - Gameloft - Playsoft - EA
- THQ - Ibisoft - Knomai - Disney
34.9% OTHERS
Associations: Mexicodevgames.org (Mexican Videogames Association), IGDA México.
Distribution
Development
There are 13 games distribution companies in the country. Selling Points. Mexico possesses 275 selling points specialized in games.
- Mexico has more than 30 development studios. - Slang is the first publisher for AAA games in the country and Latin America. - The most important zones that develop videogames: Distrito Federal, Jalisco, Baja California, Nuevo Leon and Mexico State. - Mexico produces more than 110,000 engineer each year - More than 20 universities offer studies with a focus on game development.
Online Market - The value of the online gaming market in Mexico is $42.5 million. - It is the 3rd position in Latin America. - It is the 2nd country in the Americas in the use of computers and the 13th in the world.
- 37% of Mexican houses have a computer. - Mexico has 30 million internet users. - 32% have online games as their first entertainment activity. - There are 9.6 million Mexican online gamers.
Events There are 5 relevant events that promote the industry: Electronic Game Show (EGS), Campus Party México, Aldea Digital, Gamecon and Temporada de Patos.
VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY
Mexico development
BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTE The game factory
NUEVO LEÓN Moving forward at a steady pace
JALISCO An example worth to follow
MEXICO CITY The industry’s capital
The cities of Mexicali and Tijuana are a strategic point of great importance; their immediate proximity to the territory of the United States has given these cities the chance to host the largest number of foreign game developer studios in the Mexican territory. Companies like Gameloft, Playsoft and Digital Chocolate are the ones who reign over the landscape, not just because of having the largest number of developers working for the national game industry under their payrolls, more than 250 people (between the 3 companies), but also because these cities are highly linked to education institutions, with whom they have reached agreements to endorse talent for their companies by adapting the study plans to teach undergraduate students the technical knowledge to be efficiently used in those studios. Likewise, they have established collaboration schemes with the state government to enable growth.
The position as one of the border states with our northern neighbor, as well as hosting one of the country’s most important universities and one of the strongest economies of Mexico’s northern region, make Nuevo León, and especially the city of Monterrey, a key player to favor growth and strengthening the industry. Even when Monterrey has wellknown examples of our industry such as CGBot and Xibalba Studios, who started their activities long ago, a noteworthy fact is that only recently new studios have started to emerge, such as Alebrije Estudios. Despite this, the activity in one of the country’s most important states had maintained discretion. June 2010 marked the inauguration of MIMEC (Monterrey Interactive Media & Entertainment Cluster), officially beginning the state government, and the private and education industry’s incursion into the business of digital entertainment, also including videogames.
The cities of Guadalajara and Chapala represent the industry’s most important center in the Western region of Mexico. Among the most well-known studios we can find Kaxan Games, Larva Game Studios and Gran Tiki Games. Jalisco is the state with the largest number of national studios that have participated in the development of games for consoles. The support that has been offered by the state government has been crucial for the region’s growth in the area of digital entertainment. Thanks to the efforts made by institutions such as CANIETI (Cámara Nacional de la Industria Electrónica de Telecomunicacione y Tecnologías de la Información), and IJALTI (Instituto Jaliciense de las Tecnologías de Información) the creation of several studies, such as Chapala Media Park, was enabled. Kaxan Games is one of the main examples of what can be achieved by truly taking advantage of the resources offered by the government.
Mexico City not only represents the country’s capital city, but also its videogame industry’s capital. It is the entity (Federal District) with the largest number of schools that offer courses focused on teaching for the development of videogames. Mexico City also gathers specialized media such as magazines, radio and t.v programs, as well as the most important internet sites. It also hosts the representation offices of some of the most important foreign companies of the international industry, such as Microsoft, Sony and EA. Likewise, public and commercial relations agencies of many other companies. It also hosts the most important hub for commercializing games in the country, has the largest number of sales points, both specialized and non-specialized, as well as the top distributors of games, such as Gamexpress, Frontline and VideoJocs. Mexico city has the largest number of studios dedicated to the development of games and is home to the only high level Publisher in Latin America.
Oelli was founded in 2001 in Mexico City. Our company is a full-service marketing agency with deep expertise in the gaming industry. Some of our clients are Xbox, Electronic Arts, Take 2, Konami, Blizzard Entertainment among other key players from the industry. Oelli is also the organizer of the Electronic Game Show, which is the biggest and most important videogame show in Latin America. More than 35,000 visitors attended to the Show last year. In 2011, show dates are in Mexico from October 7th to 9th and in Sao Paulo, Brazil from October 28th to 30th. Oelli has offices in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil.� Electronic Game Show www.electronicgameshow.com Latin Gamer www.latingamer.com Oelli www.oelli.com
Jorge LizĂĄrraga H. General Director jlizarraga@oelli.com, www.oelli.com, Av. Santa Fe 495 Piso 14, Corporativo Zentrum Cruz Manca, Cuajimalpa CP. 05349, Mexico D.F, T. +52 (55) 1107 8214
Xibalba Studios 速 is an independent company with a global vision devoted to creating games that are original, innovative, and above all fun by using the latest gaming technology to achieve the highest quality standards. Founded on November 15th, 2004 in the city of Monterrey (Mexico), the goal of Xibalba Studios 速 is to become one of the leading developers of 3D casual games in the world. Xibalba Studios速 created a small tech demo called Space Monkey to test the game engine that was developed in-house. After that, we created a prototype based on an ancient Mayan ball game. Right now we have just released our latest project Icebreakers速 We specialize in 3D games for PC and Consoles.
Ricardo Villarreal CEO info@xibalbastudios.com, ricardo@xibalbastudios.com, Castelar 1434 Pte. Pio X, Mty. Nvo.Leon, Mexico, CP.64710, T.+(52) 81 1365 1702, F. (52) 81 8356 3806
Gran Tiki Games is a Mexican game development studio attending Casual, Social & Console Games in Guadalajara. In 2009, GranTikiGames signed distribution agreement with RealGames & BigPoint to launch a casual portal attending Spanish market with more than 400 Games! Our objective is to distribute & develop new IP’s / licensed IP’s, and game production for multiple platforms as Online Games, Download Games, Nintendo Wii/ WiiWare, Xbox360 Live Arcade, Sony Playstation PSN, iOS & Android. In 2011 GranTikiGames will launch their first Licensed IP for Nintendo Wii console, the studio is developing as well in partnership with “Lunch Media” an specialized company in the development of Intellectual Property for animation & videogames, their first game called “Sushi Pets” to target the social and casual market over iOS & PSN. Lunch Media is managed by the creatives Lorena Machuca and Celso Garcia, Mexican filmmaker
who filmed several short films awarded in more than twenty International Film Festivals. His latest film project, the feature length film The Thin Yellow Line, was presented in L´Atelier section of the Cannes Film Festival 2011. Follow “Sushi Pets” in www.grantikigames.com
Ivan Díaz de León Tinoco CEO/Game Producer ivan@grantikigames.com, board@mexicodevgames.org, www.grantikigames.com Roberto Cuellar 4340, CD. de los Niños, Zapopan, Jal. México, CP.45040, T. +52 (33) 3647 1505
Slang is the pioneer of games publishing in Latin America.
Slang Studio is a games developer located in Mexico City.
With offices in Redwood City and in Mexico City, Slang is the region’s only authorized publisher for console games on all major platforms (Wii, PS3, Xbox360).
We develop quality games for consoles (Wii, PS3, Xbox360) and mobile devices as well as customized game solutions for social and mixed media strategies.
Slang’s primary focus is directed towards innovative content culturally relevant to a particular audience, the Hispanic community. Slang is actively growing this market by releasing new IPs as well as re-publishing existing titles from other regions of the world.
Our team consists of 25 game developers from all corners of the country. In our new studio in the business district Santa Fé, we managed to unite enthusiastic and experienced game creators with strong proven track records of published titles.
Slang also puts an emphasis on reaching a global audience by means of prime partnerships and forward-thinking digital and mobile distribution strategy. Slang’s track record includes releases in various game genres, including action sports/ fighting, sing & dance, and party games.
We are currently working on various projects for international corporate clients and some of the most innovative web and serious games agencies on the planet. The art of gamifying life is our business. We would like to extend our services to new clients.
Jochen Siess General Manager
Andro Miralrio Studio Manager
jochen@slangstudio.vg, www.slangstudio.vg, Juan Salvador Agraz 40 piso 7 Lomas de Santa Fe, Cuajimalpa, CP. 05300, Mexico DF, T. +52 (55) 3685 1151
amiralrio@slang.vg, www.slang.vg, Juan Salvador Agraz 40 piso 7 Lomas de Santa Fe, Cuajimalpa CP 05300, Mexico DF, T.+52 (55) 3685-1151
Larva Game Studios is a PC and next gen consoles game developer studio based in Guadalajara Mexico. Previously known as Immersion Games Mexico with credits in Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars (Xbox360/PS3) and Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring (Xbox360/ PS3) among others. Recently we’ve created a new business line targeting the social and casual market, a new team focusing on IOS, Android and Facebook. We are looking for development partners! As part of the World Games Fund, we are capable of bringing to the table up to 50% of the development cost in adapting an existing IP into an interactive platform. Partner with us. contact@larvagamestudios.com
Jorge Morales Business Guy Yamin Ruiz Business Guy jmorales@larvagamestudios.com, yamin@larvagamestudios.com, www.larvagamestudios.com, Av. Tepeyac 54-2B. Campo Polo Chapalita CP. 44500, Gdl. Jalisco, Mexico, T. +(52) 33 3122 3242
Kaxan Media Group is conformed by more than 115 people who develop intellectual properties, mainly through animated movies, animated TV series, and videogames. Kaxan Media Group has 3 development sites in west Mexico: Guadalajara and Chapala, in Jalisco; and Punta de Mita, in Nayarit. An Authorized Developer. Thanks to a great effort of our team, Kaxan Games is an Authorized Developer of several platforms: Consoles Authorized Nintendo Wii Developer. Authorized Microsoft Xbox Developer. Sony PlayStation3 Developer Incubation Program. Mobile Authorized Apple iPhone/iPad Developer Authorized Microsoft Windows Phone Developer. Authorized Nokia Mobile Developer.
Ricardo Gomez CEO ricardo.gomez@kaxanmediagroup.com, www. kaxangames.com, Av. L贸pez Mateos 2077, Centro de Software, Jardines de Plaza del Sol. Gdl., Jalisco. C.P. 44510, M茅xico. T. ( +52 ) 33 3030 6900
IkiGaming is a multiplatform social gaming company. We are focused on 2 things: Building top quality games and developing technology to build the games once and deploy them across different devices(web, iOS and android). Our technology is built on strong standards: HTML5, JavasScript and OpenGL. For our social games we currently are looking for strong Chinese and Indian publishers looking to get strong games that have proven track records in other markets(US, Brazil and Russia) For our mobile games we look looking for dynamic iOS and android publishers with a strong presence across different markets. For the multiplatform technology we are looking for developers looking to cut down costs and time to get their product to multiple platforms.
Carlos Mondrag贸n General Director mondragon@ikigaming.com, www.ikigaming.com, Av. Cuauhtemoc 218 Doctores, CP. 6720, M茅xico DF. T.+52 (55) 55782152
Neggi Studio was founded with the desire to create a place where everyone in the team can participate in the game design process; our goal is to promote the game industry in Latin America and become a worldwide developer. Currently Neggi has two development teams Neggi Studio Monterrey and Neggi Studio Montreal; together they have a combined experience of more than 25 years in the game industry. Neggi Studio Monterrey started in May 2010, its first project its a Tower Defense game for the iPad and its based on Mexico´s Independence movement and the Mexican Revolution, this RTS game was released on September 16 to mark the country’s 200th year anniversary of its Independence. Neggi Studio Montreal began in November 2010 lead by three veterans of the videogame industry. Both studios collaborated on Zombie Piñata, an action/adventure game released for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Currently the studio develops games for the iPad, iPhone and Android. Our mindset is focused on creating new IPs with quality, creativity and originality for the international market.
German Vazquez General Director german@neggistudio.com, www.neggistudio.com, Pedregal Ojo de Agua 5532 Pedregal La Silla, Mty., Nvo. León, CP. 64898, México, T. +52 81 1767 2021
Interaxial is a private agency focused on the articulation of the latinamerican videogame industry value chain for fostering is short and midterm growth by providing founding, business development and high impact projects. We are looking out for new markets and business models for monetizing original intellectual properties of electronic interactive entertainment for entertainment, education and advertising purposes. We are interested in conducting business in countries with robust value chains for digital media and we offer our experience on videogame industry development at the regional level for helping public agencies to define and execute public policies for the consolidation of the business environment of the videogame industry
Jorge Peña General Director jorge.pena@interaxial.mx, www.interaxi.al, Jesús del Monte 39 Piso 2, Jesús del Monte, Huixquilucan, Edo de México, Mexico, CP. 52764, T. +(52) 55 3682 3623
Digital Chocolate has rapidly emerged as a leader in new digital media and social games. Best known for Millionaire City, MMA Pro Fighter, Rollercoaster Rush and Tower Bloxx, Digital Chocolate led all software companies in App Store downloads in 2009 and in 2010 has been the fastest-growing maker of Facebook social games with virtual goods. Focused on original brands and technology for a wide variety of platforms, the company has made over 100 different award-winning games and works with 200 leading web and mobile channel partners in 80 countries. Digital Chocolate has operations in San Mateo, Helsinki, Barcelona, Bangalore, and Mexicali. Publishing, Juegos iOS, Sociales (Facebook), J2ME, BlackBerry, BREW
Francisco Casanova Parra General Director fcasanova@digitalchocolate.com, www.digitalchocolate.com, Madero 476-7, Col. Nueva CP. 21100, Mexicali , Baja California, Mexico, T. +52 (686) 552 66 22
AL-INVEST IV
CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO & CUBA
The AL-INVEST IV Programme is funded by the European Union. The European Union is composed of 27 Member States that have decided to share their knowledge, resources and destiny. Together, during an enlargement period of 50 years, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development, maintaining at the same time the cultural diversity, tolerance and the individual liberties. The European Union promises to share its achievements and values with the countries and peoples beyond its borders.
GAME OVER
Gabriel Moreno Barr贸n, Project Manager Senior T: 52 (55) 5325 6674 D: Plaza Inn, nivel paseo, local 340, Insurgentes Sur 1971 Col. Guadalupe Inn C.P. 01020, M茅xico D.F. W: eurocentro.mx M: gabriel@eurocentro.mx Twitter: @eurocentronafin