Communication Ministry Encourages Youth to Make Games
Communication and Informatics Minister, Rudiantara, delivers his remarks at the 2019 IDBYTE Esport Conference in Nusantara Hall, ICE BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, Friday (13/9). (Photo by: Ministry of Communication and Informatics PR)
Minister of Communication and Informatics, Rudiantara, encourages youth to make games considering games and esports industry in Indonesia has great potentials.
“The Government supports the esports industry. We want our youth to make games in the future, not just play the games,” Rudiantara said in his remarks at the 2019 IDBYTE Esport Conference with a theme ‘Gaming for Change’ at Nusantara Hall, ICE BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, Friday (13/9).
According to the Minister, game and sports industry provides big opportunities. “I think this is a good opportunity, particularly now that there are a lot of sponsors in Indonesia. Currently, Indonesia is able to join game developer from Paris, that is, Gameloft, which has an office in Yogyakarta,” he said.
However, Rudiantara added, Indonesia has not made the most of its esports potentials as evidenced by a small number of esports players compared to the overall population.
“Indonesia has a population of over 200 million people. 40 percent of the population of Asia. However, our gamers are only made up of 20 percent,” said Rudiantara, adding that being a gamer has now become a profession.
On that occasion, the Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to supporting the development of the Indonesian game and sports ecosystem. He went on to say that fast internet network connects Indonesia through the Palapa Ring.
“The Government wants to change from being a regulator to a facilitator. We also want to hold esports events not only in Jakarta, but in many regions,” said Rudiantara.
Since 2017, Indonesia’s esports industry has generated a profit of USD800 million, resulting in Indonesia ranked 16th in the world in terms of revenue from the esports industry.
In the meantime, Chairwoman of IDBYTE Esports, Shinta Dhanuwardoyo, said that Indonesia has become one of the major markets in Southeast Asia. “Even now, Indonesia has more than 43.7 million gamers and esports revenues have reached USD1.1 billion or approximately Rp15.4 trillion,” she said.
Meanwhile, the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) mobile game conference and tournament event is expected to provide education to the game industry stakeholders in Indonesia. “Today, we want to provide education about this industry. Several speakers from various backgrounds and big players will take part in the event. So, it will be an interesting event,” she said.
According to Shinta, this competition also encouraged gender equality, because it became the only esports tournament in Southeast Asia with the biggest total prize for the women’s team category, reaching Rp290 million. “This is also equivalent to the total prize given to the men’s team,” she conlcuded. (Ministry of Communication and Informatics PR/ES)
Translated by: Muhardi
Edited by: Yuyu Mulyani
