Gaming
And the winners of the Dutch Game Awards 2023 are……!
The winners of the Dutch Game Awards 2023 were announced at the leading awards show for the Dutch game industry. This thirteenth edition of the award show took place during Dutch Media Week in Beeld & Geluid in Hilversum.
The Dutch Game Awards has several categories, from ‘Best Game’ to ‘Best Innovation’ and four special awards. The winners are chosen by a professional and diverse jury. Besides an award, the winners also receive a place in the collection of Sound & Vision, where the games are preserved as cultural heritage for eternity. And the winners are…!
Best Game: Age of Wonders 4 – Triumph Studios
Best Art: Mail Time – appelmoes games
Best Audio: Isonzo – BlackMill Games
Best Innovation: Secret Shuffle – Adriaan de Jongh & Friends
Best Technology: Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered PC – Nixxes Software
Best Game Design: Secret Shuffle – Adriaan de Jongh & Friends
Best Applied Game: Klankkr8 – Game Tailors
Best Debut Game: Kayak VR: Mirage – Better Than Life
Best Student Game: Iron Line – Team Trainwreck (BUas)
Triumph Studios with Age of Wonders grabs Best Game 2023 award: “Age of Wonders 4 proves to be an excellent continuation of the series. The game is innovative within the strategy genre and combines old and new mechanics to create a masterpiece. The depth and complexity give the game a feeling of epic proportions.”
The jury chose Secret Shuffle as the winner in the Best Innovation and Best Game Design categories: “What a way to put a smile on people’s faces! The game offers a very accessible way to connect people, through a form of gameplay never before seen by us. The different dance games will surprise at many parties, and the intuitive UI and low entry threshold make the game easy for anyone to understand and use. Making yourself uncomfortable has never felt better than with Secret Shuffle!”
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered PC by Nixxes Software wins Best Technology: “Where most PC ports don’t hold up to the original game, the PC port of Marvel’s Spider-Man surpasses it. The PC version adds subtle details like the enhanced reflections in the windows of the buildings, without sacrificing performance. With many custom solutions to the technological challenges Nixxes has raised the bar for porting technology.”
Iron Line was voted Best Student Game: “The judges were frustrated that this is not a full game (yet). Iron Line offers a unique twist on the Tower Defense genre. It cleverly combines cargo management with the placement of turrets. Add well-designed elements like the game economics and it makes the whole game fit together like a glove.“
Best Debut Game was won by Kayak VR: Mirage: “The judges really felt like they were outside while playing this game. The kayak moves very lifelike and the attention to detail in the environment adds up to an experience that feels beyond realistic. Next to that the game shows an intuitive UI and fun competitive multiplayer races.”
Klankkr8 wins Best Applied Game: “It is noteworthy that Game Tailors used solid scientific theories and evidence as the basis for Klankkr8 and also conducted scientific research on the effectiveness of the game! These theories translated well into consistent, playful and simulating game design that introduces young children to letters, sounds and the first steps of learning to read. Klankkr8 is a full-fledged, interactive game that serves different audiences.”
Best Audio was won by Isonzo: “Isonzo excels with the integration of realistic audio from the historic World War I setting and excellently balances the chaos of sounds in the frantic multiplayer battles. This really adds to the immersion and depth of the game, and what’s more, the soundtrack is an orchestral masterpiece!”
Mail Time wins Best Art: “The studio describes itself as “a very small studio” and so it is impressive that Mail Time’s art feels so ‘wholesome’ and ‘cosy’ even though it was created by only one person. The unique complementary mix of 2D and 3D art certainly contributes to this depth, which the jury says is very hard to achieve!”
Special Awards
The Special Awards were created for the studios, individuals or initiatives that sometimes play more in the background, but are important for the Dutch game industry. The winners for the Special Awards are:
Best Studio: Triumph Studios
Inclusion Award: Esmeé van’t Hoff
Career Achievement: Angie Smets
Awesome Achievement: Deloryan Games
Triumph Studios wins Best Studio award: “Triumph Studios has been around since 1997 and has been going strong and quiet for over 25 years. Joining the Paradox family in 2017 did not negatively impact its own studio culture, but rather made the studio stronger in its own way. Employees stay with the studio for a long time and praise its good leadership. The studio’s rock-solid direction can also be seen in their games, with Triumph Studios not capitalizing on erratic trends, but rather following their own course.”
This year’s Inclusion Award goes to Esmeé van’t Hoff: “As the driving force behind Wholesome Games and Wholesome Direct, Esmeé has worked hard to create more space and recognition for “cozy games.” She is a figurehead for making these games visible to the broader public, which has given developers of these games a more prominent place in the game industry.”
The Career Achievement was won by Angie Smets: “Over the past 20 years at Guerrilla Games, Angie has proven to be a true cornerstone of the successful AAA game studio. But perhaps even more important is the role she has played in normalizing diversity, for both Guerrilla’s games and in the studio’s workplace! We wish her all the best in her new role at PlayStation Studios and look forward to more groundbreaking work from Angie!”
Last but not least, the Awesome Achievement goes to Deloryan Games: “Deloryan Hommers started as a one-person studio in her spare time, but her studio has since expanded to a team of eleven. Deloryan Games’ unique game serves a niche audience of diehard horse fans, but we’re not talking about little girls and glittering unicorns. Horse Reality brings a lot of depth to the market of horse management games by focusing on horse genetics, breeding programs, horse training and health statistics and all based on real-life data. The studio competes with studios ten times its size. Nevertheless, they have managed to grow in a tough market by taking their audience seriously.”
Gaming
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
The post Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game
Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuries—this time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studio’s second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrash™ in Skate or Die – but this time it’s a standalone crash game!
In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit “stop” to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldn’t have stopped. But here’s the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.
Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit City’s high-volatility slots, is rated as ‘Medium Volatility’ but don’t let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Get back to work, will you? We’re bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and it’s packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). We’re thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!“
‘Outsourced: Slash Game’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.
The post Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.
Back on course
The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.
The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.
Billions of players
Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.
“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.
Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.
“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.
Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.
Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.
Entering the mobile market
Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.
“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.
“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.
The post The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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