The global game development market is booming, and Philippine call centers are gearing up for this. But game development largely involves technical processes, which are not within a typical contact center’s expertise. Developing a video game is a job that best fits software building and designing experts of gaming capitals like Japan, the US, and South Korea. If that’s the case, would the Philippines’ business process outsourcing (BPO) industry truly benefit from the game development market’s growth?
Knowing their niche
Although the country could readily provide the creativity and talent needed in game development, call center outsourcing firms are aware of the technical gap between the industry and the growing international market. Thus, they let the IT sector handle the tech aspects of game dev outsourcing while they take care of the voice service needs of the clients.
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) even expressed a positive outlook for the growing partnership between game dev and customer service industry. BPAP President and CEO Jose Mari Mercado said that their focus would be on delivering voice-based support services to gamers in need of gameplay and troubleshooting aid.
Support from the government
Government authorities likewise showed confidence in the game development industry. Senate committee chair on trade, Senator Bam Aquino is hopeful that the gaming industry will likely follow the footsteps that the local BPO sector took, which evolved into one of the country’s biggest economic drivers since it started just a decade ago.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expressed the same support through Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr., who believes that the penetration of the game dev market to the outsourcing industry would bolster the country’s reputation to foreign investors. To fulfill this, DTI has been building the BPO industry’s image as an ideal outsourcing destination to potential investors by promoting it in major international trade shows and qualifying it for incentives under the Investment Priorities Plan.
Interest from the workforce
Game development is gaining interest from potential BPO employees, as proven by the attendance of students and young professionals in the game developers festival held in December 2013. BPAP attributes the interest to the younger generation’s vast exposure to online games.
To keep the interest, BPAP plans to further promote game development not just to prospective investors but to possible employees as well. The BPO industry aims to achieve this by partnering with DTI and introducing game development courses and trainings in college.
To summarize, Philippine call centers will benefit from the growing international game development market. Government and private associations alike see how this will help the BPO industry grow, so they join hands in promoting the local game dev industry to potential investors and employees.