LOS ANGELES The Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles organized an event presenting the Finnish gaming industry Okko-Pekka of Salmiieen at the official residence in Bel Air in mid-March. The event was attended by prominent American investors and companies focused on the gaming industry.
Representatives from 25 game companies arrived from Finland. Fingersoft, Metacore, Remedy, Rovio, Frozenbye, Bit Magic, Ray Browser and Quicksave Interactive were among others.
Nearly 30 American companies, many of which collaborate with Hollywood studios, were looking for the next Angry Birds-type game at the event. The concept of a popular game like that could be applied to other media as well, such as making a movie based on the game.
Those present include the managing partner of the investment bank Drake Star Partners Michael Metzger.
– The search is definitely a newer version of a game like Angry Birds, which is addictive in a good way and which gathers a large number of players, Metzger tells .
Angry Birds, published by Rovio in 2009, became the most downloaded game in the Apple app store in the United States in five months. It spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs, and an animated film that grossed $350 million worldwide. Rovio was sold to the Japanese company Sega for 680 million euros in 2023.
Sonic the Hedgehog and Tomb Raider games produced Dmitri Johnson is the founder of the video game company Story Kitchen, which closely follows the Finnish gaming industry.
– Finnish games focus on characters and emotions. Those are important points for us when we’re looking for content to adapt to movies and TV, says Johnson.
CEO of Jam City Josh Iguado, who has been responsible for games such as Cookie Jam and Panda Pop, admires the innovation and playfulness of Finnish games.
– The design is clear and simple. The user interface and user experience are always excellent. I think they have something to do with Finnish culture, design and history, says Iguado.
Quality is more important than brand
Creating a broad brand around a game continues to be popular as a business model. The latest product inspired by games are podcastssuch as Harley Quinn & The Joker: Sound Mind and Orphan Black: The Next Chapter.
– However, the most important task of game companies is to make games that people want to play. The main metric is the stability of the number of players. It is very difficult to get new players, especially on the mobile side, analyzes Metzger.
One of the biggest challenges in the industry is acquiring new players for mobile games, which is more expensive than before. The challenges also include focusing investments on young people to developing companies.
– Game entrepreneurs say that it is currently difficult to get funding, but there are now more investors focusing solely on the game industry than there were five years ago, Metzger points out.
He adds that getting financing is of course not as easy as during the coronavirus, when all investors wanted to get involved in the gaming industry.
– Those times are over, at least for the time being.
Lots of talent, fewer jobs
Director of Marketing and Finance at Fingersoft Markus Vahtola also lists the maturing of the game industry as one of the changes.
– With that, the courage to take creative risks has decreased. Developmental bursts to create new successful concepts are missing when you want to operate safely. It reduces innovation, Vahtola analysed.
The financial recession and the geopolitical situation have also brought uncertainty to the gaming industry.
– Many employees have been reduced in the industry. It is a short-sighted action. There are now many more experts on the market than ten years ago. I hope that there will be another boom so that there will be enough work for everyone.
Vahtola considers artificial intelligence a double-edged sword.
– Artificial intelligence will change a lot of functions and improve the work process. Equally, it will raise a lot of questions regarding copyright, Vahtola acknowledges.
Despite the dangers, no one wants to be left behind in development.
– Smaller players boldly try it when the legislation is not yet up to date. Larger players, on the other hand, think that if they don’t take AI properly, they will find themselves in the position of an underdog.
Challenges must be anticipated
Quicksave Interactive is an example of a company that has been able to innovate in the midst of turmoil. The game company makes games for the web and browser world, which is a new growing area.
The company has also made games in connection with instant messaging applications, such as Facebook’s Messenger service. CEO and founder of Quicksave Elina Arponen has managed many game companies in his career.
– Various platforms, such as Apple and certain game engines, have made changes that affect the operation of game companies and the acquisition of customers, says Arponen.
– Artificial intelligence also brings uncertainty to the industry, but with it you can learn new concepts and improve quality. Human judgment is still needed to ensure that the end result is as desired.
Arponen emphasizes that game companies must know how to predict where the industry is developing and respond to changes by creating new, technology-based strategies.
– Large American companies are looking for solutions on how to integrate games into another application or service. We have the tools for how to implement this easily and with high quality, says Arponen.