Great opportunity for Vietnamese gaming industry

At the end of April 2024, many "gamers" were surprised when Gameloop - a free Android emulator and an international game store with hundreds of game genres - was blocked in Vietnam. This software allows users to play mobile versions of games on personal computers.

Change stereotypes, start protection

Recently, on social networking sites, gamers continued to be abuzz when they could not access the world-famous online game platform Steam of Valve Corporation (USA).

Meanwhile, Netflix users in Vietnam also reported that the game section for accounts registered for use on mobile phones has disappeared. If accessing Netflix via computer, the game link displays the message: "Netflix Games are not available in Vietnam". This move came after the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information - Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) sent a document requesting Netflix to stop advertising and releasing electronic games on the App Store, Google Play Store and the platform's application store because it has not been licensed to operate.

Thus, within just one month, 3 famous international game stores are no longer operating in Vietnam. Many opinions say that this creates fairness for domestic game businesses, preventing tax losses related to cross-border platforms.

Recently, at the Vietnam Game Festival (Vietnam GameVerse 2024) organized by the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, VnExpress Newspaper and a number of units, Mr. Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, expected that by 2030, the Vietnamese game industry would reach a scale of 1 billion USD. To achieve that result, in 2023, the Ministry of Information and Communications, together with the Academy of Posts and Telecommunications Technology, trained university-level games, and together with VTC Corporation, trained vocational skills. In addition, it is building a foundation for tax policies for this industry.

"Previously, the Government's view was that it was necessary to limit the gaming industry, so it was put on the list of industries subject to special consumption tax. At this time, it is necessary to change the prejudice because this industry can generate income and bring in foreign currency" - Mr. Le Quang Tu Do emphasized and said that the management agency also has solutions to limit the negative aspects of gaming.

At the seminar "Solutions to promote the development of Vietnam's cultural industry by 2030" organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper on the morning of May 23, Mr. Dinh Ba Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DatViet VAC Group Holdings, acknowledged that the Ministry of Information and Communications' request to remove and block transmission lines and applications of the world's leading game distribution companies is a "transition" that creates favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Quang, CEO of DOS Labs - a game development company, assessed that the management agency's blocking of unlicensed international game stores can be seen as a form of protection for the domestic game industry.

Adding his opinion, Mr. Quang said that it is necessary to build policies towards further reform of administrative procedures to create favorable conditions for businesses. Currently, when releasing games, businesses need about 1.5 months to apply for a license, not to mention having to meet many regulations on reporting and inspection. Meanwhile, most international games do not apply for a license nor comply with Vietnamese regulations, only a few large game projects such as Clash of Clans have cooperated with domestic game publishers to operate and meet regulations. "Post-inspection of games currently on the Vietnamese market if problems are detected is fair for both domestic and foreign games" - Mr. Quang acknowledged.

Gaming events often attract a lot of people. Photo: BINH AN

Focus on game quality

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Quang, users still have ways to bypass firewalls to access software and applications to play games. Besides, the number of unauthorized video games released on Google Play or App Store is not much, so blocking pirated games may not have a significant impact.

Sharing the same view, Ms. Vu Thi Trang, CEO of Gamota - a mobile game publisher in Vietnam, also does not expect that blocking international game stores will have a big impact on the domestic game industry. According to Ms. Trang, the Vietnamese game industry has not developed quickly because there is no formally trained human resource, most of them are self-taught. Therefore, Vietnam has created a lot of hyper-casual games (games built with minimal content - PV), the competitiveness with international games is not high.

Citing Vietnam's creation of the famous game Hiker - one of the leaders in the domestic game industry, Ms. Trang believes that businesses need to create high-quality game products for the industry to go far and be sustainable.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Huy, CEO of Hiker Games, believes that for the gaming industry to develop, it must attract investment from many sources, have support from users and policies from management agencies. However, gaming businesses are still hesitant because of the high investment costs while there are many policy barriers. However, the CEO of this gaming company admits that regulations for the gaming industry have gradually become much more open than before.

According to Ms. Vu Minh Hanh, Chief of Office of the Vietnam Game Development Association, our country is a market with the highest rate of game deposit in Southeast Asia. The fact that the authorities are starting to pay attention to building a legal framework for the game industry will be an opportunity for Vietnamese games. On the business side, most have recognized the importance of product quality, supported the game industry training program and have a strategy to release games globally.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/co-hoi-lon-cho-nganh-game-viet-196240525200952489.htm