Netherlands in the News

Region specific feature on gaming in Edge magazine:

Foreign gaming companies with operations in Holland

Activision, Atari, Codemasters Software, Electronic Arts, ERTAIN Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment, International Game Technology, Nintendo, WMS Industries, Perfect World, RGB Spectrum, Scientific Games, Take-Two Interactive Software, THQ, Ubisoft, Real Arcade

Contact the NFIA for further information: gaming@nfia.nl.

A Brave New World: Game Industry and Education in Utrecht

There are many features about the province of Utrecht to draw visitors and investors alike. Find out more in this feature on Utrecht in the Spring 2010 issue of Xpat Journal.

Bring your Games to the next level in Holland

Gaming: serious fun

Computer games have long ago outgrown kids and teens. Consumer gaming has exploded as a global business, in part because of rapid innovations in gaming computers and consoles, and in part because of the ability of game developers to develop games that attract a large number of consumers. 

8% growth until 2011
According to a report by PWC, the Dutch video games market will expand from €369 million in 2006 to € 541 million in 2011, growing at an 8% compound annual rate. The Netherlands’ share of total video game spending in the EMEA region went up from 3.5% in 2002 to 4.9% in 2006. PWC projects that the Netherlands will account for 4.4% of total video game spending in EMEA in 2011.

The video games market grew by 17.1% in 2006 (compared to 13.3% in 2005) in part due to the launch of new console platforms and related games (which accounted for 43% of growth). The Netherlands has one of the highest rates of broadband penetration and one of the most active online game markets in Europe, accounting for 35% of total spending. The PC game market experienced a modest drop in spending, but the small wireless game market is posting double-digit growth.

Wired, connected, internet-savvy nation
One crucial strength of the Dutch serious gaming sector is the wide-spread adoption of broadband and mobile technologies. The Netherlands is one of the most wired countries in the world. Some 91% of households have a PC, 90% have internet access, 77% have a broadband connection and 74% shop online. With four GSM/GPRS networks and UMTS available in metropolitan areas, mobile internet access is possible from anywhere. There are 19.7 million mobile subscribers on a population of 16.5 million.

Amsterdam is also home to one of the world’s most important Internet Exchange Points (AMS-IX) and the world’s first mobile peering point. We also host several specialised high-capacity networks, such as SURFnet (which connects more than 750,000 scientists, teachers and students worldwide) and GigaPort (which connects Dutch universities, national research centres and foreign research networks). Hundreds of IT companies have established their headquarters in the Netherlands.