Video games in the Netherlands

The Netherlands' mainstream video games market, not taking into consideration the serious and casual games, is the sixth largest in Europe. The Dutch market takes up 3.95% of the entire European market in total sales and 4.19% in software sales.[1]

A significant part of the Netherlands' gaming industry is in serious games, in which Dutch companies make a significant part of the worldwide industry.[2][3]

In the Netherlands, an estimated of 3,000 people are working in the games industry, at more than 330 companies.[4] Over 45 of the companies are located in the Dutch Game Garden, a government subsidized organization with the aim of promoting and improving the video games industry in the Netherlands.

Consumer availability

In 2007, the Dutch game industry surpassed the Dutch film industry for the first time in history. The growth of the games industry in the Netherlands is about 50% higher than any other industry in the Netherlands' region.

Despite the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, the situation of video gaming in the Netherlands is not all that bad. Both publishers and retailers report that the crisis has certainly not caused a drop in sales, while at times, sales have even improved. [5]

History

Although the first generation of video games were obtained by a select few, video games became first available during the second generation of video games, when a select few Dutch electronic stores carried the earlier systems. With the third generation, more stores started carrying video game related products, a trend that has been setting through ever since.

In the early '90s, independent video game stores first started to open in the Netherlands, with a fast expansion in the early 2000s. Since 2004, video games have gotten more important for general stores however, which has led to the closing of a number of game stores, and a merger of others.

Currently, there are about 1,200 stores, of which about 75 independent, in the Netherlands that carry video games and related items, and numerous online stores.

Distribution

Distribution of games on physical media in the Netherlands is usually done by publishers or major distributors such as Micromedia BV in Nijmegen that cover the entire Benelux, although most of the publishers' offices are located in the Netherlands, and only a few have offices in Belgium. Since not every publisher has a separate office for the Benelux, certain publishers take care of multiple labels, including those of other publishers.

The Netherlands also has several publishers for games through digital distribution, such as via web portals and mobile platforms like the App Store and Google Play.

The Netherlands' appearance in video games

The Netherlands is not often used as an originally created setting for video games, other than certain Dutch games such as A2 Racer and Efteling Tycoon. Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, was planned to be a featured city in The Getaway 3, before its development was cancelled. The first internationally successful game to use the Netherlands as a setting is Hitman: Codename 47, which has a level set in Rotterdam. Resistance: Retribution also featured a level in Rotterdam.

The Netherlands appear at times in several types of simulation games.

World War II games

During the Second World War, the Netherlands was the location of Operation Market Garden, a much-used setting for World War II games. The game Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway focusses entirely on Operation Market Garden and accurately depicts the Dutch towns and landscape along the operation's route.

Racing games
  • The TT Circuit Assen is by fans considered "The Cathedral" of motorcycling, with the Dutch TT being one of the biggest events in motorbike racing. As such, the track is featured in many of the motorcycling racing games.
  • Circuit Park Zandvoort is a Formula One racing track, which is currently still used for other racing classes. The track has been featured in its old Formula One-layout in the game Grand Prix Legends, and more recently in its current layout in TOCA Race Driver, TOCA Race Driver 2, Race 07 and rFactor 2. It is also a popular track in the modding community.
Sports games

In most of the international sports games, such as the FIFA football games and Olympic video games, teams or players from the Netherlands are featured.

Video game development

Game developers from the Netherlands
Company Location Founded Type
Witan Entertainment Haarlem 1992 entertainment, casual, serious, mobile games
Engine Software Doetinchem 1995 entertainment, handheld, mobile games
Elements Interactive Almere 1996 mobile games, software and websites
Triumph Studios Delft 1997 core games
IJsfontein Amsterdam 1997 serious games
MAD Multimedia Groningen 1998 serious games
RANJ Rotterdam 1999 serious games
Khaeon The Hague 1999 core games
Nixxes Software Utrecht 1999 video game conversions and software
Guerrilla Games Amsterdam 2000 core games
Bright Alley Utrecht 2000 serious games and gamification
Two Tribes Harderwijk 2000 core games
Codeglue Rotterdam 2000 core games
E-Semble bv Delft 2000 serious games
NotTheFly Mobile Entertainment Venlo 2000 mobile games
Zylom Eindhoven 2001 casual games and game distributor
Gamebasics Studio Zoetermeer 2004 mobile games
Monkeybizniz Utrecht 2001 serious games
Trade Games International The Hague 2002 core games
VSTEP Rotterdam 2002 serious games
Pixel Pixies Leeuwarden 2002 serious games
Grendel Games Leeuwarden 2002 core- and serious games
Eximion Eindhoven 2003 core- and casual games, game distributor
Team6 Game Studios Assen 2003 core games
Spill Group Utrecht 2004 casual games (since 2008 known as Spil Games)
CrazyFoot Gamestudio The Hague 2004 core games
Mindgame Amsterdam 2004 serious games
Xform Utrecht 2004 browser based 3D games
Tygron The Hague 2005 serious games
Triangle Studios Leeuwarden 2005 core and mobile games
Sticky Studios Utrecht 2005 serious and mobile games
Soepel Amsterdam 2005 casual- and serious games
Paladin Studios The Hague 2005 mobile games
Coin-Op Interactive Rotterdam 2006 video game design
BlewScreen Tilburg 2006 casual- and serious games
ZC Funcraft Nijmegen 2007 core games
Blender Institute Amsterdam 2007 Open content
FourceLabs Utrecht 2007 serious games
Weber Sites & Games BV Arnhem 2007 casual, mobile games
WeirdBeard Amsterdam 2008 web games
Ronimo Games Utrecht 2008 core games
OneBigGame Amsterdam 2008 core- and casual games
Play like a Champion Amsterdam 2008 sports games (since 2017 known as Socios Sports)
Vertigo Games BV Rotterdam 2008 core- and serious games
Flavour Amsterdam 2008 serious games
Rough Cookie Amsterdam 2008 mobile and handheld games
M2H Alkmaar 2009 mobile, casual and core games
Virtual Play Utrecht 2010 mobile, core- and serious games
Vlambeer Utrecht 2010 mobile, handheld core games
Stolen Couch Games Utrecht 2010 core games
Gazingi Interactive Zwolle 2010 mobile games
Rising Step IJsselstein 2010 core games
Jolly Jellyfish Groningen 2011 promotional games
Game Oven Utrecht 2011 mobile, experimental games
8D Games Leeuwarden 2012 serious games
Critical Bit Leeuwarden 2012 core- and serious games
Modoka Studios Entertainment Zwolle 2012 mobile and casual games
Mimicry Games Leusden 2012 core- and casual games, software
Jagaco Games Zoetermeer 2012 casual, mobile games
Sparkling Society Delft 2012 casual, mobile games
Blue Giraffe Eindhoven 2012 casual, mobile games
Trigames Delft 2012 casual, mobile games
Wispfire Utrecht 2012 casual- and serious games
Dutch Game Studio Woerden 2013 mobile games
Kings Lane Amsterdam 2013 casual, mobile games
Maata Games Arnhem 2013 browser games, mobile games
BitBunch Eindhoven 2013 core games
2Monkeys Deventer 2013 casual, puzzle, mobile games
Studio Bleep Groningen 2013 serious games, augmented reality
Knuist & Perzik Veenendaal 2014 core games
ChimpWorks Eindhoven 2014 mobile games
Hulan Studio Eindhoven 2015 serious games
Dual Cortex Gaming Amsterdam 2015 mobile games
Force Field Amsterdam 2015 core- and casual games
Studio 397 Apeldoorn 2016 racing simulators
Wooden Shoes Games Rotterdam 2017 casual games
BadDice Heerlen 2018 casual games
Twin Wasp Sims Amersfoort 2018 Serious games, simulation, 3rd party

Defunct game developers
Company Founded Ended Type  Reason for ending development
Courbois Software 1982 2012 core- and casual games dissolved
Aackosoft 1983 1988 core- and casual games filed for bankruptcy in 1988
ANMA 1989 1993 core- and casual games dissolved
Parallax 1989 2000 core- and casual games dissolved
Radarsoft 1984 1987 core- and casual games Radarsoft continues without gaming products
Ultra Force 1989 1993 moved to computer software development
R&P Electronic Media 1991 2000 casual- and serious games continued without gaming products
The Vision Factory 1992 2002 casual games filed for bankruptcy in January 2002
DIMA/Creative Media 1995 1997 dissolved
Digital Infinity 1995 2000 casual games merged into Lost Boys Games
Orange Games 1995 2000 core-, casual- and mobile games merged into Lost Boys Games
Davilex Games 1997 2005 casual- and serious games Davilex continues without gaming products
White Bear 1998 2011 filed for bankruptcy in December 2011
Lost Boys Games 2000 2003 core- and casual games taken over and renamed Guerrilla Games
Streamline Studios 2001 2009 filed for bankruptcy in November 2009
DarXabre 2001 2011 inactive since 2011
Playlogic Entertainment 2002 2010 core games filed for bankruptcy in July 2010 and again in December 2014
Coded Illusions 2004 2008 filed for bankruptcy September 2008
Spellborn Works 2004 2009 filed for bankruptcy in June 2009
W!Games 2005 2016 core- and casual games merged as Vanguard Games into Force Field in April 2016
Virtual Fairground 2008 2011 filed for bankruptcy in April 2011

Game publishers from the Netherlands
Company Location Founded Type
Dutch Game Studio Woerden 2013 Mobile Games
Gamious Haarlem 2011 casual games on multiple platforms
Iceberg Interactive Haarlem 2009 casual games
Lion Castle Entertainment Assen 2018 core- and casual games
Modoka Studios Entertainment Zwolle 2012 mobile and casual games
OneBigGame Amsterdam 2008 core- and casual games
Perfect World Entertainment Amsterdam 2011 console and PC games
SOEDESCO Hoogvliet 2014 hardcore and casual games on multiple platforms
Spill Group Utrecht 2004 casual games (since 2008 known as Spil Games)
UnitedGames Wormerveer 2007 core games
Zylom Eindhoven 2001 casual games

Defunct game publishers from the Netherlands
Company Founded Ended Type  Reason for ending publishing
Lighthouse Interactive 2005 2008 core games closed due to bankruptcy of parent company in 2008
Playlogic Entertainment 2002 2014 core games filled for bankruptcy in december 2014

Games developed in the Netherlands
See also: List of video games developed in the Netherlands

Education

Up until 1998, whoever wanted to work in the gaming industry was best off pursuing a computer programming or graphic design education. In 1998, Utrecht School of the Arts offered the first 'pure' game education on the European continent.[6] Currently there are 11 schools offering specific game educations in the Netherlands.

University of Amsterdam

Since 2013 the University of Amsterdam offers the first master program focused on game development (Game studies).

Utrecht University

Utrecht University offers Game technology as a variant of its Computer Science bachelor and a master in Game & Media Technology.

Breda University of Applied Sciences

Breda University of Applied Sciences has been offering a course in game development (Creative Media and Game Technologies), for over 10 years. The 4-year course is entirely focused on practical teaching, working with a variant of Project-Based Learning called "Role-Based Learning". Students work entirely on game development projects, with an assessment based on their behavior and learning within those projects. They also offer a Master in Game Technology.

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences offer a major in Creative Media & Game Technologies with a minor Game design and Development for example where students have to create several games within a short amount of time. First, they learn to create a 2D Android game within 6 weeks. Then they learn to create a 3D game within 13 weeks total.

Saxion University of Applied Sciences

Saxion University of Applied Science in Enschede also offers a bachelor's degree in Creative Media and Game Technologies.

Media
  • Power Unlimited, since 1993 (oldest active publication)
  • Control, since 2007

Defunct print media
  • n3 Nintendo Magazine; 2002–2003
  • GMR; 2006–2008
  • gamesTM; 2008
  • Hoog Spel; 1990–2002
  • [N]Gamer; 2003–2012

Television and radio
  • Gamekings, since 2002 (television)
  • InsidegamerTV (television)

Defunct television and media
  • GameVille (casual games television show)
  • Gammo (defunct television show)
  • Power Play (defunct television show)

Online media

Defunct online media
  • Gamesen.nl
  • Gamez.nl
  • Bashers.nl

Video game systems

Philips CD-i

The Philips CD-i (Compact Disc Interactive), first released in 1991, is an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by the Dutch electronics manufacturer Royal Philips Electronics N.V. This category of device was created to provide more functionality than an audio CD player or game console, but at a lower price than a personal computer with a CD-ROM drive at the time. Earlier CD-i games included entries in popular Nintendo franchises, such as Hotel Mario, Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure, although those games were not developed by Nintendo. In addition to games, a lot of educational and multimedia reference titles were produced for the system, such as interactive encyclopedias, museum tours, etc. The CD-i was a commercial failure, selling 1 million units across all manufactures in 7 years, and losing Phillips $1 billion.

digiBlast

The digiBlast portable console was launched by Nikko at the end of 2005 and promised to be a cheap alternative (selling at approximately $117.86) to the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable. Cartridges for games, cartoon (Winx Club, SpongeBob SquarePants) episodes, and music videos were released on the handheld. A cartridge for MP3 playback and a cartridge with a 1.3-megapixel camera were released as add-ons.[7] However, a shortage of chips around the release date and thereafter resulted in a failed launch and loss of consumer interest.[8][9]

European video game rating

The Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM) is the institute responsible for the software given for review for the European video game content rating system PEGI.

Video game events in the Netherlands

Between 2005 and 2013, the NLGD Festival of Games was an annual trade show for the national and international video games industry, with an attendance of over 1,500 visitors in 2013.

Between 2005 and 2009, Amsterdam was the host city to Casual Connect Europe, the world's leading trade show for casual games. After a four-year absence, Amsterdam hosted Casual Connect once more in February 2014.

Over the years, there have been 2 large consumer events, until 2007 this was 'Gameplay'. From 2008 the event is organized by Blammo Events and is called Firstlook, the event is held annually in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht. Since 2015 the event has been rebranded as Firstlook Festival.[10]

In 2013, Walibi Holland hosted the first edition of Game On, which hosted several video game activities in the theme park. Also in 2013, the Retro Game Experience was first hosted as part of the Sound and Vision experience at the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. Smaller organizations and private collectors also host retro game events on a regular basis.

LAN scene

In the Netherlands, several large and smaller LAN parties and other gaming events are held yearly. In recent years, the 1000+ visitors have declined in popularity, with the scene seeing a shift towards smaller, more sociable events and/or events that offer more than just non-stop gaming. Additional activities include (outdoor) sports events, quizzes and other non-gaming competitions. In addition, small LAN-parties held at home for typically 5–15 visitors, remain popular.

A notable organization is Gameparty.net, a website that functions as a central hub in the Dutch game event scene, who also hosts two large annual events, TheParty and CampZone. Other major LAN-parties and organisations that have organized 1000+ visitor events include Drome, Netgamez, LAN = Life and Regroup. Most of these organizations operate on a non-profit basis, finding sponsors within the computer and gaming world to be able to operate budget-neutral.

Notable people in the Dutch gaming industry
Henk Rogers

Was born in the Netherlands, and was responsible for acquiring the license to Tetris for global distribution onto video game consoles.

Arjan Brussee

Started his career in video games as the main programmer behind the first demo ever to use 3D imagery on the PC and later both Jazz Jackrabbit games, and is currently head of Guerrilla Games.

John Vanderaart

One of the first Dutch video game developers (who is also known as Doctor John or DRJ), released his first games for the Dutch software house Radarsoft in the 1980s. He was one of the first Dutchmen who could earn his living by making computer games.

Cas Cremers

Cremers worked in MSX computer game development, initially working for the Sigma Group before founding his own group Parallax; he is credited for work on nine different games, and many other demos, in a combination of roles including programmer, designer, composer, and writer. Cremers is now professor of Information Security at the University of Oxford.

Johan de Koning

The chess engine used by the popular video game chess franchise Chessmaster is called The King and has been written by Johan de Koning of the Netherlands. This engine was first introduced in Chessmaster 4000 Turbo in 1993 and is still used today.

Hermen Hulst

Hermen Hulst is since November 2019 president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Before he was managing director of Guerrilla Games.

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References
  1. "Nieuws: VK grootste gamesmarkt in Europa". Gamed.nl. April 12, 2008.
  2. "The Netherlands Announces Its Growing Role in the Global Games Industry". GameSpy. May 7, 2008.
  3. Lenting, T. (2019), Gamegeschiedenis van Nederland 1978-2018. Karel van Mander Academy: Arnhem.
  4. "'Aanmodderen' – Ronald Meeus, Vlaams journalist, over Nederlandse gamesindustrie". Control Online. January 13, 2014.
  5. Müller, Martijn (March 3, 2009). "Games in de huidige economische crisis" (in Dutch). NG-Gamer.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. digiBLAST Has Landed – Gizmodo
  9. digiBLAST at GreyInnovation
  10. Firstlook Festival http://www.firstlookfestival.nl. Retrieved January 6, 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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