Arab News Japan
TOKYO: The Saudi Arabia-Japan Vision 2030 Business Forum hosted a “Digital Entertainment Roundtable,” to discuss Saudi Arabia’s efforts to build a local gaming industry, which includes localizing Japanese games for the Saudi market, collaborating with esports tournament organizers, and investing in the digital entertainment sector.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information, Abdallah Alswaha, and Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih attended the roundtable, with the former giving a short speech during the opening.
Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, Vice Chairman of Savvy Games Group, was also part of the panel.
The session focused on how the two countries can promote cultural exchange by creating content that appeals to both Japanese and Saudi audiences.
The officials discussed how to localize Japanese manga and anime by translating the content through Saudi publishers, who will in turn distribute the content throughout the Middle East.
They also agreed to explore co-publishing agreements to create new and original content.
Saudi Arabia’s gaming sector is expected to grow to 1.3 billion dollars in the next two years, with 58 gaming companies operating in the Kingdom. 67% of Saudi Arabia’s population (around 24.8 million people) are active video game players.
The Kingdom will be hosting this year’s Esports World Cup in July and will be giving away approximately $60 million in prize money to further grow the gaming sector.
Saudi Arabia has previously collaborated with Japanese companies, which have provided the Kingdom with expertise, knowledge, and cutting-edge technologies to improve the overall quality of projects and elevate the reputation of the digital entertainment industry.