It looks to be a banner year for the Benelux Games Industry.  A number of titles were released by BGIn members in 2007, with many more slated for release next year.  Check out the summary of the game industry market numbers for 2007.  

According to the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Media and Entertainment Outlook for 2006, “The video games market in the Netherlands continued its string of double-digit gains with a 17.1 percent advance in 2006, an improvement compared with the 13.3 percent gain in 2005.”  

Overall, a large number of members seemed very positive about the opportunities that were occurring in the Benelux Games Industry on both a regional and international level, but did express concern regarding education, talent, and employment laws throughout the region.  Responding to this feedback, BGIn is working on a new industry survey to better assist our members and partners in understanding the challenges of the Benelux Games industry.

"The Netherlands has one of the most active online game markets in Europe.” according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, "…high broadband penetration in the Netherlands fuels demand for online video games. In the PC game market, a drop in the average price offset a rebound in unit sales in 2006, resulting in a modest drop in spending. There also is a small wireless game market in the Netherlands that is posting double-digit annual increases. The introduction of the third new console platform in 2007 should lead to an addition increase in excess of 20 percent. Thereafter, as the new platforms mature, growth will drop to low single-digit gains during 2009–2011.”

As the overall video games market continues to expand from € 369 million in 2006 to € 541 million in 2011, growing at an 8.0 percent compound annual rate; BGIn is actively working to secure more in-depth marketing and analysis information to assist our members in seizing this opportunity. 

Statistically speaking, the Netherlands has been slower to adopt console video games than other territories in EMEA but console games in the Netherlands have grown faster than in the rest of EMEA during the past five years, which boosted the Netherlands’ share of total video game spending from 3.5 percent in 2002 to 4.9 percent in 2006. By contrast, the Netherlands has one of the largest online game markets in EMEA because of its high broadband penetration.

One thing is for certain, the Benelux Games Industry's steady increase in creative capital is begining to fullfill the void for video game content worldwide!