Report · January 1, 2011

Essential Facts: About the Canadian Computer and Video Game Industry

Published by ESAC – Entertainment Software Association of Canada

Summary

The 2011 overview of Canada’s entertainment software sector presents a comprehensive portrait of an industry that employs roughly 16,000 people across nearly 350 firms and generates an estimated $1.7 billion in direct economic impact. Growth has accelerated, with an 11 % increase in size over the previous two years and a projected 17 % expansion in the next two‑year horizon, underscoring the sector’s rising significance within the national economy. Industry composition is diverse: 59 % of employment resides in large firms (over 150 staff), while small and medium enterprises account for the remainder, averaging 16 employees each. Traditional console development remains dominant, absorbing 68 % of the workforce, though resources for social (2 %), casual (2 %) and mobile (7 %) gaming are expanding rapidly. Development costs vary by platform, with traditional console projects averaging C$10.1 million and mobile titles around C$0.17 million, reflecting differing risk and time‑to‑market profiles. Provincial analysis highlights Quebec as the primary hub, hosting 86 companies, 8,236 employees and $733 million in spending, and achieving a 13 % annual growth rate. Ontario follows with 96 firms, 2,600 staff and $238 million in revenue, posting 20 % historical growth and 21 % expected expansion. British Columbia, with 83 companies and 3,882 employees, records flat recent growth but anticipates a 10 % rebound, while Saskatchewan is excluded due to lack of survey responses. Consumer insights from a 2,579‑adult, 398‑teen and 547‑child NPD sample reveal that

From the report

WHAT’S INSIDE? Did you know? 4 What are some of the drivers of Canada’s success? 5 Industry structure and size 6 Industry structure by platform 7 Selected provincial profiles 8-9 The industry in Canada 10-11 Industry impact 12 Who is playing computer and video games? 13-14 How often do Canadians play? 15 On what platform do gamers play most frequently? 15 The bottom line 16 Top selling computer and video games 17 What are ESRB Ratings? 18 Who we are 19 All data in this document is from Secor Consulting Group’s Canada’s Entertainment Software Industry in 2011 unless otherwise noted. This report was commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) and gathered quantitative and qualitative data from computer and video game companies across Canada, including developers, publishers, and other key industry players. Saskatchewan does not appear in this report because although a few companies from the province were identified as industry participants, no responses to the survey were received. Accordingly, those companies, and the province were removed from the data analysis to avoid giving analytical results without any actual data. SECOR is Canada’s leading independent strategy and organizational consulting firm. For the last 35 years, SECOR has helped senior executives to develop and implement their organizational strategies. SECOR has offices in Montréal, New York, Paris, Québec, Toronto and Vancouver. For more information visit www.secorgroup.com

independent strategy and organizational consulting firm. For the last 35 years, SECOR has helped senior executives to develop and implement their organizational strategies. SECOR has offices in Montréal, New York, Paris, Québec, Toronto and Vancouver. For more information visit www.secorgroup.com This document also contains data from NPD Group’s 2010 Understanding the Canadian Gamer. The survey was commissioned by ESAC and gathered data from 2,579 Canadian adults, 398 Canadian teens (13-17) and 547 kids (6-12). The margin of error associated with he total samples is +/- 1.6, 19 times out of 20. The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,700 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, please visit: www.npd.com

DID YOU KNOW? 16,000 Approximate number of people directly employed in the Canadian video game 3rd industry Compared to approximately Canada’s video game 32,000 employees in the United States industry’s ranking in the world based on number of employees $1.7 billion fi estimated direct economic impact on the Canadian economy by the Canadian video game 348 industry Number of companies operating 11% in Canada Industry growth over the past two years 17% Projected growth over the next two years

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DRIVERS OF CANADA’S SUCCESS? A MADE-IN-CANADA INDUSTRY The Canadian video game industry is responsible for creating some of the most recogniz - able game franchises in the world. Many of the most successful video games and video game companies were started in Canada by Canadians. LIVEABILITY OF CANADIAN CITIES Operating costs in Canada’s major development clusters are significantly lower than the US, Europe and Japan. Canada’s major cities offer desirable places for talent to live with culturally diverse populations, thriving downtowns, and generally affordable condomini - um and rental markets. GOVERNMENT POLICIES AT BOTH THE FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL LEVELS Canada offers generally competitive corporate tax rates, and many provinces have in - troduced refundable tax credits for production of interactive digital media to encourage growth of the sector. Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credits also play a critical role in fostering technology-based innovation and advance - ments in the video game industry. Federal and provincial funding programs for digital media offer support for projects that might not otherwise obtain funding.

Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credits also play a critical role in fostering technology-based innovation and advance - ments in the video game industry. Federal and provincial funding programs for digital media offer support for projects that might not otherwise obtain funding. CANADA IS KNOWN INTERNATIONALLY FOR ITS STRONG BASE OF DIVERSE, CREATIVE AND WELL-TRAINED TALENT As a multicultural country, there are significant language and 60% cultural overlaps with the United States, Europe, and Asia, which of Canadian gaming companies are enables the Canadian developexpecting to hire new ers to produce content for the graduates in 2011 global market. Canadian educational programs, 77% particularly at the college and university levels, produce wellexpect to hire new grads by 2013 trained graduates. However, as our industry grows, we face an increasing shortage of experi - enced talent across all job cat - egories.

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND SIZE » Canada’s video game industry is comprised of a healthy mix of companies of dif - ferent sizes and with differing concentrations on particular platforms including tra - ditional console games and newer platforms such as social games or games for mobile devices » Most employees in Canada’s video game industry work at large companies (more than 150 employees), but there’s many small and medium companies as well, with 148 of them averaging only 16 employees each Micro (1-5) 2% Small (6-50) 15% 29% Medium (51-150) 24% 43% Large (151+) 59% 16% 12% Percent of total Percent of total employment companies CANADIAN QUICK FACTS BY COMPANY SIZE Average Total Total No. of Percent of Percent No. of Employees Companies Total of Total Employees Employment Companies Micro 3 292 101 1.9% 28.8% Small 16 2312 149 14.7% 42.7% Medium 67 3842 57 24.4% 16.4% Large 221 9272 41 59.0% 12.1% TOTAL 15,718 348

Pages: 19
Words: 3,101
Format: PDF
Type: Report

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