Analysis: Inside Brazil's Video Game Ecosystem
by James Portnow
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January 20, 2010
Analysis: Inside Brazil's Video Game Ecosystem
[Brazil's game development market is underdeveloped, but Divide By Zero CEO James Portnow believes it has "infinite possibility." In this detailed regional analysis, he explains why.]
Recently, an unusual opportunity came across my desk. It required that I do some business in Brazil. I knew nothing of the Brazilian games industry, so I began to ask around. To my surprise, no one else seemed to know much about either, so I just took the leap and headed south.
Beyond my business dealings, I tried to do as much general fact finding as possible while there. Here’s what I learned.
Overview
Brazil is a place of infinite possibility. It has the drive, the wealth, and a large enough highly educated populace to become the next Korea. It has a large, well established "gamer" demographic and a remarkable desire to grow its own national industry. It is also unfettered by the traditions and mindset that many of the more established markets have developed.
I believe there are great opportunities for members of the US game industry in Brazil, but there are also great obstacles. Piracy is rampant, the industry is inexperienced, funding is almost nonexistent, distribution is next to impossible, and the government is either apathetic or hostile. It’s a risky place. My money says there will either be a boom in the next decade or the industry in Brazil will never start.
I’ll try to go over in depth what I see as the challenges facing the industry in Brazil, the possibilities on the horizon, and what we, the international development community, can do to help the Brazilian industry overcome the hurdles they face -- and how we benefit by doing so.
Hurdles
First, the elephant in the room...
Piracy in Brazil
I’ve long heard other people in the industry say Brazil simply isn't a viable market for games because of the piracy rate. This isn't true. It’s not a viable market for games because of the tax rate.
Games which are six months old in the US are being sold through legitimate vendors at 250 reais, or around $140 US dollars. This is an exorbitant price. It’s prohibitive. If you’re reading this article, you're probably pretty into games and know many people who are. Think about yourself and your friends. How many games would you purchase per year at $140? One, maybe two? Would you buy a console in the first place if you knew that every game you were going to buy was $140? All the consoles I saw in Brazil were sold at roughly one and a half to two times their price in the United States as well.
-- read the rest here
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26645/Analysis_Inside_Brazils_Video_Game_Ecosystem.php
and stop blaming good companies like sony! complain to the brazilian government!!!
