News
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
> Video games, a sector of excellence in France
Video game production is one of France’s sectors of excellence. Today, its creativity and quality are recognized throughout the world. In 2011, the video games industry was the second largest cultural sector in the world (worth €52 billion) but it was also the largest cultural sector by sales in France, with revenues that now exceed those in the cinema, video and music industries. The market in France is larger than in Germany and is second only to the United Kingdom in Europe.
The French are very keen on video games: in 2011, sales volumes (for hardware and software) amounted to €2.7 billion.
The French are also one of the leading video games produces in the world.
The 300 companies in the sector, which employ 5,000 people, generate more than twice as many indirect jobs in sectors such as IT engineering, software, IT security and technical services (special effects).
France is the second largest producer of video games by volume after the United States, particularly in sectors boasting strong growth such as video games on social networks and smartphones.
French companies have an annual production budget of more than €500 million.
Some innovation clusters, like CapDigital and Imaginove, have a particular focus on video games.
Several regions in France (including Ile-de France (Paris region), Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Rhône-Alpes, Aquitaine and Languedoc-Roussillon) have long since promoted support measures and public-private partnerships to boost development in the sector, such as innovation clusters for example.
The National Video Games Association (SNJV), founded in 2008 in extension to the Association of Producers of Multimedia Content (APOM), plays an active role throughout the sector to preserve or extend the competitive advantage of video game production companies located in France.
>> Read the complete Background briefing on Video Games in France
