Berlin, Germany – The largest and most innovative market in Europe arrives in the world’s gaming mecca. This best describes investor events held by Germany Trade & Invest on Septermber 4, 2012 in Tokyo and tomorrow in Seoul. On the heels of this year’s Gamescom in Germany, the timing of these events couldn’t be better to encourage companies to tap the German market. To date there are over 10,000 people working in this growing sector.

“South Korea was this year’s partner country at Gamescom. The country is absolutely number one, especially in the online gaming field. And despite the slight decline in the console games market, Japan is a longstanding giant in the gaming industry.

Germany features a market of 25 million active gamers with significant room for further growth. The three countries represent an ideal partnership,” said Peter Alltschekow, Director Eastern Germany at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin. In 2011 the industry generated nearly 2 billion euros, an increase of 3.5 percent over the previous year.

Especially the growth regions in the eastern part of the country are attractive for investors. In the Games Academy in Berlin, for example, talented individuals are trained to be game designers, programmers and producers. Leipzig also belongs to the most well-known creative centers in the gaming field.

The states of Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt support gaming investors with specialized agencies for the creative industries. And Germany’s ultramodern communications infrastructure creates top conditions for the distribution of online and mobile games.

“In contrast to the movie and music industries, the electronic gaming industry has continued to grow in recent years. This is promising for both German companies and international providers. South Korean gaming companies OnNet and Azubu have already established a presence in Germany. Other investors are hopefully not far behind,” continued Alltschekow.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

Image Courtesy of   Barone Firenze / Shutterstock.com

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Berlin, Germany — Germans spent over €845 million on games in the first half of 2012, according to the latest data from German Trade Association of Interactive Entertainment Software (BIU). The slight increase from the first half of last year came from a variety of gaming products, including PC, mobile and online games.

The German gaming market caters to 25 million active gamers and the country is an investment haven for firms from all over the world. Industry experts from Germany Trade & Invest will be at this year’s gamescom from August 15-19 in Cologne to highlight opportunities for international companies in Germany’s gaming industry.

“Germany is home to the largest gaming industry in Europe. Programmers and game developers from across the globe are moving to innovative hotspots throughout the country,” stated Julia Oentrich, gaming industry expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.

Germany’s gaming workforce is among the world’s most skilled. Roughly 40 public and private universities across the country offer gaming-related concentrations. Highly qualified graduates and international professionals support approximately 275 computer game developers and publishers nationwide.

“The huge market has created seven gaming clusters nationwide and each hub has its strengths. Whereas Berlin is famous for its international start-up culture, Hamburg’s reputation is growing as a gaming city with multinational companies such as Bigpoint and Intenium. The variety of regions makes it easy for companies to find a home in Germany,” continued Oentrich.

Gaming is becoming increasingly popular across a broad demographic. As game segments diversify, so do gamers, who tend to be multi-platform users. The average social gamer in Germany is now a 27 year old female, contrary to industry stereotypes.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

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Berlin, Germany and San Francisco, U.S.A. — Solar power accounted for 10 percent of Germany’s total electricity production in May, an increase of 40 percent from the previous year, as reported by the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry. The significant jump stemmed from heightened capacity complemented by sunny days.

This surge in green power generation reveals that the nation is well on its way to expanding the proportion of renewables in the energy mix. The strong market is paving the way for new foreign investors such as bSolar, an Israel-based solar PV cell company. Solar industry experts from Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) will be at booth 7635 at the Intersolar North America Exhibition in San Francisco from July 10-12 to discuss opportunities within the sector.

“Germany’s decision to replace nuclear energy with other sources is proving to not only be possible, but is creating many valuable prospects for the renewables sector. The continued strength of the solar market has sparked greater investment from abroad,” stated Tobias Homann, photovoltaic industry expert from Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.

With the support of GTAI, bSolar established a plant in Heilbronn that produces high-efficiency bifacial cells. Its decision to invest in Germany reflects the country’s longstanding status as the world’s key PV market. The rooftop cells have the ability to produce more electricity at lower costs.

“Germany is one of the largest producers of PV technology as well as the biggest consumer of per capita solar energy worldwide,” said Dr. Yossi Kofman, Co-founder and CEO of bSolar. “Strong demand partnered with a highly skilled workforce, intensive R&D and a political framework supportive of renewables make Germany an obvious point of investment,” Kofman continued.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

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Germany recently passed the 20 percent mark for renewable energy in the electricity mix. And the federal KfW bank group has introduced a new plan to further accelerate this shift to renewables, with increases in multimillion euro business loans now available. As more renewable energy is generated, energy management and storage are also receiving increased focus.

Germany Trade & Invest, together with representatives of Germany’s six E-energy model regions, will be at this year’s E-world from February 7-9 in Essen to highlight opportunities for international companies in these growing market segments.

“With such a large share of renewable energy in the mix, it is becoming more urgent to implement smart grid and storage technologies to balance the fluctuating supply. Germany is making an exceptional team effort to achieve our ambitious goals, with businesses, banks, researchers and the government all working together” said Heiko Staubitz, renewable energy expert at Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.

The new KfW plan outlines efforts to ease the financial burden of a wide-ranging shift to renewable energy. Previously, loans were available to small businesses for their efforts to move to renewables, and these have been expanded to cover companies with annual revenue of up to 3 billion euro. At the same time, loans are available to support research and development of energy storage, transmission, production, and efficiency techniques with grants up to EUR 25 million, marking an increase.

In light of last year’s decision to phase out nuclear power, Germany is further ramping up investments in renewable energy. Already, Germany features the world’s strongest photovoltaic market, with nearly half of all global installations worldwide. In wind power, Germany leads Europe in total installations and is currently preparing for a major expansion in the offshore segment.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

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