VietNamNet Bridge - In recent years, millions of electronic game fans have gradually left internet cafes, where they played games on PCs, and have shifted to mobile phones. The mobile game market is expected to boom in the time to come, when the 4G network reaches all provinces and cities throughout the country.

At least four mobile shooting games have been launched into the market this year by big distributors.

After RPG (roll playing games) and MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena), gamers now like shooting games on mobile phones.

“The product which can create differences and meet gamers’ taste will lead the race,” a representative of VTC Game, the distributor of Phuc Kich Mobile, said.

Encouraged by rare success stories like Flappy Bird, mobile game developers in Vietnam have been trying to make games in different genres to conquer domestic and international markets.

It is estimated that 150 mobile games are available in Vietnam. Distributors import foreign games for domestic distribution but many made-in-Vietnam games have been exported to the world market. 

Encouraged by rare success stories like Flappy Bird, mobile game developers in Vietnam have been trying to make games in different genres to conquer domestic and international markets.

Crazy Rambo Defense, a shooting game, for example, is developed by DFT Vietnam, but has been downloaded mostly in countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. CS game of Joy Entertainment has been distributed in the domestic market and Thailand through local distributors.

A report shows that mobile games in 2013 just made up 17.4 percent of the total revenue of the game industry ($12.3 billion). The figure rose to 27.8 percent in 2016 ($23 billion). Analysts believe that mobile games in Vietnam will see four-time growth in the next few years, reaching $914 million by 2020.

The growing mobile game market has attracted foreign game firms. KDDI, Japan’s second largest network operator, has joined hands with MobiFone to sell mobile games in Vietnam. At first, KDDI will focus on selling Vietnam’s entertainment content. Later, it may sell Japanese entertainment products as well after considering Vietnamese players’ taste.

Another Japanese firm, Fuji Technology with office in Hanoi, activated the game downloading service late last year with Ren-Q-Bu!, a favorite Japanese dating game.

Fuji Technology’s CEO Noriko Kato commented that Vietnamese still like free games on mobile phones, but the number of Vietnamese gamers willing to pay for games is on the rise.

Mobile game development is believed to be reserved for many different subjects, from large corporations to small game studios and individuals. However, with thousands of games available on social networks, it is difficult to persuade gamers to play and pay.

It takes about six months to develop a new game. For a studio with 8-10 workers, the average cost to create an initial product is VND500 million.

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