Weak gaming industry
When it comes to playing or "consuming" games, Germans are top, there can be no two ways about that. More than 300,000 people are expected to flock to the Gamescom fair in Cologne, Germany, this coming weekend. And many more, an estimated 50 percent of all people living in Germany, make ample use of computers, smartphones or gaming consoles.
Germany is one of the biggest sales markets in this sector, but it's a boom the domestic industry has missed almost entirely.
The computer games sector employs some 30,000 people in Germany, according to recent calculations by the Trade Association of Interactive Entertainment Software (BIU). That may sound a lot, but it really isn't. In the US, 146,000 people work in the same sector.
The reasons for Germany lagging behind despite the huge sales market are manifold. And some of the blame has to be laid at the doorstep of policymakers.
Financial support for game developers an exception
For developers, Germany is far from being an ideal location. Look at how society here rates computer games. In the US and many other nations these games are now part of their cultural identity and hence enjoy substantial state support.
Not so in Germany where the conventional media of the educated middle class such as books, music and films still play first fiddle. For films for instance, financial state support is big. The government spend 310 million euros ($338 million) in 2012 alone. When it comes to computer games, the only German state granting aid is Bavaria.
Technology is another problem. The modular setup of the gaming industry is well known. The development of graphics for a given game for instance can be given to teams abroad. But without fast Internet connections that's not an option in a sector where terrabytes of data need to be sent to and fro. Germany's poor broadband Internet structure is not well-suited for that sort of job.
Particularly in some rural German areas Internet speed is the same as it was 10 or 15 years ago. Hence for developers' teams such locations are out of the question.
Getting experts from abroad?
Securing foreign skilled labor isn't one of Germany's strengths either. Game developers are highly specialized folks, and the creative part in the business is usually carried out from within a team sitting in one location and interacting directly on the ground.
If a developers' studio want to keep abreast of global gaming trends, it needs international experts. But to get them to move to Germany is not so easy, because politicians have set up cumbersome rules for the employment of skilled workers from outside the EU.
The rising role of developing economies
And so, the German gaming industry has not been able to live up to its potential - which does exist, as seen by huge interest in the Gamescom fair shows. It's just not exploited properly.
There ought to be better working conditions for game developers working here. Otherwise, other nations will fill in the gap. Developing nations in Africa and Asia are aware of the opportunities in the sector. And they have many workers who are willing to be paid much less than in Germany.
So far, companies there are still working to meet the needs of their respective domestic markets only. But that might change fast and could sideline German game developers even further.