Shanghai, September 4, 2010 – Virtuos spoke to Japan’s game development community at the CEDEC Conference in Yokohama. Virtuos Japan Representative Ms. Naoko Kino gave the talk, along with Virtuos Producer Shigekazu Ito.
With a theme of “You Create, We Produce”, Ms. Kino outlined some of the challenges faced by Japanese developers today, and how offshore production can help them address those challenges.
“Japanese developers hold a wealth of creativity. But modern game development requirements mean that highly creative individuals may work on only one title for several years,” said Ms. Kino.
“By outsourcing game production, Japanese developers can create more great games, with a faster and more cost-effective development cycle.”
Mr. Ito continued the talk with a discussion on the major challenges of outsourcing production. “Communication, quality and IP protection are important issues to all developers considering outsourcing for the first time,” said Mr. Ito. “It is essential for developers to find an outsourcing partner with a strong track record of IP protection, and with native Japanese staff who can help them ensure their quality expectations are fully met.”
The talk came just after several major Japanese publishers announced they would reduce the SKUs they planned to release in the face of rising development costs. Meanwhile, another major Japanese publisher announced that it would increase the number of games it planned to produce with the help of Western outsourcing.
About Virtuos
With offices in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos is one of the largest and most international providers of digital entertainment offshore production services, specializing in 3D Art and Co-development. Virtuos’ international management team includes experts from more than 10 nationalities. Virtuos clients include 15 of the top 20 games publishers worldwide as well as renowned developers.