The mantra that says that technology makes the market evolve in geometric progression is felt by the gaming industry like in almost no other area. Based on software processing and evolution, this segment is completely transformed at least twice a decade. And, if we consider that the beginning of this industry was in the 1970s and that it stabilized in the following decade, it is possible to believe that it is still a youngster compared to other segments, such as the automotive industry, for example.
Although new, the gaming industry already accumulates numbers and followers as relevant as those of other sectors and has undergone transformations worthy of an industrial revolution, if we consider the context of the beginning of the century or even a longer timeframe. While entrepreneurs seek to understand how to act in this new type of business, investments vary and the market is self-regulated based on user behavior, which is as unpredictable or even more unpredictable than the industry itself.
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Those who manage to follow changes and anticipate trends without losing their DNA are the real winners. Adaptability here is more important than anything and Level Up is an example of how decisive this ability is in the market.
Created almost 20 years ago and present in Latin America since 2004, the company has sailed in different areas of the gaming world and today it positions itself as an agency specialized in audiences that are eager for this type of content.
“The market has transformed itself over the years and we realize that we deliver more value as a direct service to the consumer, via social networks or even guiding publishers on how to deal with the end user,” says Julio Vieitez, CEO of the company in Latin America.
Level Up experienced the height of PC RPGs and formed the knowledge base of many Latin American players launching games like Ragnarok and MU in the 2000s. While publishing these games and creating a perfect user base for the market that would increase in the following decade, the company unconsciously matured the idea of being a service for large publishers.
“We have been in the market since Orkut was launched and we have seen the increase in the impact of communications when it comes to promoting a game. At that time, it was really important for the brand to be present in advertisements and big websites. Today, we see that the industry’s real spokespeople are the influencers and there are new networks that are gaining relevance, like TikTok,” says Vieitez.
Changes continue to happen frequently and there is a market that grows a lot every year. Today, more people play (games), which automatically makes efficient communication and product promotion even more necessary
Julio Vieitez, CEO at Level up in Latin america.
The experience on both sides gives Level Up an obvious market advantage, but mainly a different view of the game industry in Latin America–one that every entrepreneur in the sector should look for, one that brings satisfaction to the company, but also considers the final audience’s satisfaction a priority.
Having this perception is not a litany of those who deny the importance of profit or market dominance, but of those who live in contact with an audience that constantly demands the presence of the brand in actions, when it comes to satisfying and mainly responding to eventual problems. Basically, the brand needs to be as present in its community as the most assiduous game player–therefore, to lose sight of the audience is to put the business at risk, more than ever.
Today, Brazil and some Latin American countries are going through one of the biggest transformations that the gaming industry has ever seen: the popularization of esports and mobile platforms. In the past, esports were seen as a niche within the segment; today they are as much or even more important than the games themselves.
Mobile devices are no longer expensive peripherals and have taken over all smartphones. Today, every cell phone is a video game and this democratizes the market in an unprecedented way, especially in Brazil.
“The mobile domination that is now happening in Brazil has already happened in other countries and is gaining strength here because the most powerful phones are cheaper and the games, at the same time, adapt to the processing capacity of these devices. The success of games like Free Fire does not come by chance, since it is a game that runs on many devices and is popularized easily in a country with a growing base of mobile users like Brazil “, explains Vieitez.
“We have a game called Avakin, a kind of Second Life, which in Mexico alone has around 350 thousand users daily, and is now gaining momentum in Brazil. It has similar graphics and operation to Free Fire, which adapts entertainment to limitations that the users’ devices have”, completes the executive.
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Given that Brazil is considered one of the countries that most accesses the internet via cell phone and spends, on average, 9 hours connected according to a Hootsuite survey, there is no way to predict a decrease in this scenario. The main reason is the scarce access in less affluent social classes, because according to IBGE, Brazil’s official Institute of Geography and Statistics, not even 50% of the country’s inhabitants in class D and E have mobile or residential internet access.
With the expected advance of the economy and the natural penetration of accessories and consumption in the coming years, a new portion of the population will enter the gamer audience targeted by companies that create games like Free Fire, but also by others that connect with the audience through other channels, like Level Up.
Even though it is constantly changing and already displays a considerable size, there is still a lot of space to invest in the gaming industry in Latin America.
