Gaming and media sector could be low hanging fruit for government

Auckland - Interactive media, the world’s largest and fastest-growing media sector, could be the low hanging fruit for the New Zealand government when it comes to their industry transformation plans, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says.

He was commenting on a new research report just released which has identified a set of achievable recommendations to boost the New Zealand economy.

Growing at nine percent annually, the interactive media and gaming sector global market will be worth $258 billion in 2021, the report says. Mobile apps, gaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, esports, edtech and medtech are at the forefront of these trends.

“We have already seen countries such as Finland producing billion-dollar media and gaming export sectors. In New Zealand, millions of dollars are invested in the film industry and in research and development support for tech firms, yet unfortunately most interactive media and gaming firms miss out due to current policy wording,” Muller says.

“The scale of this opportunity justifies consideration for the report’s main recommendation, which is a call for the establishment of an interactive media commission to help coordinate policy and investment.

“Growing this creative tech sector will also generate both tech and creative jobs which provides future work opportunities for a much larger population of Kiwis,” he says.

Weightless exports of creative IP and services overcome New Zealand’s tyranny of distance and open a huge global market for our knowledge-based industries.

The sector has grown 39 percent annually for the last six years and 93 percent of its revenue comes from exports. If current high growth rates could be continued with coordinated support, New Zealand’s interactive media earnings would be worth $1.01 billion by 2024.

The report says 59 percent of New Zealand children have used educational games at school and the export market for game-based learning is growing 20.2 percent each year.

The 108-page research report research was prepared by the New Zealand Game Developers Association with support from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and NZTech.

The New Zealand tech sector employs more than 108,000 Kiwis and contributes nine percent of New Zealand’s total exports. Tech is now this country’s fastest growing industry.

For further information contact Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188

Photo: NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller