Video games in France

Video gaming in France is one of the largest markets in Europe.^[1][2][3] The French government give special tax breaks to video game companies.^[4] In 2014, the French diplomatic service released a report which calculates the profit generated by the French video game industry at €2.7 billion. It states that there are 300 video game companies in France. It estimates the number of jobs directly related to the video game industry at 5,000. It estimates the number of indirect jobs created by the video game industry at 10,000. The report found that in 2013, around 8 out of 10 people had played a video game in the last 12 months.^[5] In 2018, the number of players was estimated at 32.8 million.^[6] In France video games have equal status as an artform, alongside more traditional formats like painting and theatre.^[7] In 2016, the French Minister of State for Digital Affairs, Axelle Lemaire, held talks with various French video game industry figureheads to find solutions to the problem of misogyny in video games. She mooted solutions like removing tax credits for publishers who publish games with misogynistic content, and creating a label which would identify video games with positive representations of women.^[8]

History[]

At the end of the 1990s, the video game industry in France had 1200 companies employing a total of more than 25,000 people. The country ranks fifth in the world. In 2002, the explosion of the Internet bubble provoked the end of three of the most prestigious French studios in a few months: Kalisto Entertainment, No Cliché and Lankhor. Between 2003 and 2013, the video game industry in France plunged more than 80% to 240 companies and 4,800 employees, moving from fifth to seventh in the world. Since the crash, companies in the sector struggle to develop beyond a certain size, with the majority of studios focusing on virtual platform development. In the field of video games on mobile phones and social networks, France is the third largest producer in the world and, despite modest budgets, games produced in France are proving to be very profitable. The viability of French video game companies, however, remains below their equivalents in the United Kingdom or Germany, which some players in the sector explain by the high level of tax in the country. Despite these economic constraints, in early 2010, French studios signed more and more contracts with international producers such as Capcom, Sega and Nintendo, and some projects attracted American investors. Although French touch is no longer regarded as a guarantee of creativity, many French studios, such as Eugen Systems, Cyanide and Ankama, remain internationally respected developers in the field of simulation.^[9]

Industry[]

According to the French Agency for International Investment, video games in France and in 2011 are the leading cultural industry in terms of turnover (€2.7 billion for all equipment and games), ahead of The cinema (2 billion for cinema in theaters) and music (800 million). The French market is second only to the UK at the European level.

The market counts in France approximately 4 800 employees for 240 companies (2012).^[10]

Game developers from France[]

Game publishers from France[]

Popular titles from France[]

• Rayman series
• Beyond Good and Evil
• Just Dance series
• Assassin's Creed series
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series
• Dishonored series
• Life Is Strange
• Life Is Strange 2
• Detroit: Become Human
• Beyond: Two Souls
• Heavy Rain
• A Plague Tale: Innocence
• Deathloop

Schools and vocational training[]

The National School of Play and Interactive Digital Media (French: École Nationale du Jeu et des Médias Interactifs Numériques) (ENJMIN) is a public school located in Angoulême devoted to video games and more generally to interactive digital media. It is the only public school in Europe that trains video games.

Electronic Sports in France[]

In January 2016, Prime Minister Manuel Valls entrusted two parliamentarians, Rudy Salles and , with the task of "defining a legislative and regulatory framework favoring the development of video game competitions in France". The report submitted by the two parliamentarians in March 2016 calls, among other things, to "define a real framework for online and offline competitions", "create a specialized committee attached to the CNOSF", "give players a real status" Protect young players "through various measures and" encourage the recruitment of foreign players ".^[11]

This mission led to a participation in the bill for a digital Republic, which was adopted in first reading in the Senate on 3 May, with 323 votes in favor and 1 vote against.^[12][13] The law officially recognizes in chapter 4 section 2 the practice of video games in competition in France and an official status for professional players.^[14]

In parallel with this law, the government announced in May 2016 the creation of a "professional contract specific to the professional video game player" as well as the birth of the independent association "eSport".^{[citation needed]}

On October 20, 2016, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi announced the launch of Paris Saint-Germain eSports, a section of the PSG, with YellOwStaR, former professional player of League of Legends, as director.^[15][16] Paris Saint-Germain eSports, with a multi-million euro budget, includes a FIFA team and a League of Legends.^[17]

Sales[]

2.7 billion euros in revenues for the video game sector in France (+3% vs. 2013), including €758 million for consoles (+ 24% vs. 2013) and €1.392 billion For software (-5% vs. 2013) In 2014, the turnover of the video game market is generated at 29% by consoles, 61% by software and 10% by accessories.^[18] In 2017 the video games market in France grew to €4.3 billion annually, an 18% increase year-on-year, including the software sector increase by 16 percent to €2.61 billion, and the hardware and accessories sector increase by 22 percent to €1.69 billion.^[19]

Consoles[]

The most sold console in France in 2012 is the Nintendo 3DS, with approximately 950,000 copies, followed by PlayStation 3 (700,000 copies), Wii (372,000 copies), Xbox 360 (360,000 copies) and finally The Wii U, released only on November 30, with 118,000 sold.^[20]

At the release of the Wii U in France on November 30, 2012, 240,000 copies are placed on the market on its release.^[21]

Events[]

In 2006 two video game shows, the Festival du Jeu Vidéo and the Micromania Game Show were created.

The Video Game Festival was the largest video game show in France before disappearing in 2010 with the creation of Paris Games Week. The last edition of the Video Game Festival was held on September 10, 11 and 12, 2010, but the content offered to visitors was very different from that proposed in other years. Indeed, SELL wanted to withdraw from the partnership with the Festival to create its own show, the Paris Games Week, considering that the Festival was not sufficiently general public and was not adapted to the ambitions of the SELL.^[22] The next month takes place the first edition of the Paris Games Week. On April 12, 2011, Jean-Claude Larue, President of SELL, announced that a space devoted to French creation would be integrated into the Paris Games Week, managed by Jonathan Dumont, founder of the Festival du Jeu Vidéo. Consequently, the Festival merges with the new SELL show, signing the end of the show.^[23]

With the creation of Paris Games Week, the Micromania Game Show changes direction and becomes a "video game night" in a Parisian cinema where publishers and developers come to present their video games through live demonstrations.

The Paris Games Week takes place every year at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center and in 2014 is the second largest video game fair in Europe, with its number of visitors, behind gamescom in Germany (335,000 visitors in 2014 ).^[24]

References[]