Government Can Do More To Market Local Games, Says Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan

During a parliamentary session in the House Of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) earlier today, Bangi Member Of Parliament (MP) Syahredzan Johan spoke out about what the Malaysian government can do to further support the Malaysian games industry in addition to financial assistance or funding.

He said (via Astro Awani):

“With permission, I would like to touch upon the subject of video game development.

In the past, I have clarified that I am a gamer. I played games on a PS4, and now on a PS5.

I would like to see a video games industry or video game development in the country.

We’ve already seen several games that were developed in Malaysia, including GigaBash, No Straight Roads, and many more. There’s also another game currently in development from Todak Studios, titled Mastra.

I understand that MDEC has provided funds to several local video game developers to make games.

However, if we really want to see world-class games developed in Malaysia, the support from the Government must not be limited to only providing funds, they should also provide support in marketing and promoting games that have already been released.

Completing a video game is not the endgame because after finishing the game, we still need to market and promote the game.

In this regard, the Government can play a role by marketing local games as a showcase to promote the capabilities of local game developers.

Another suggestion is to form a partnership with data centres. Nowadays, we have a lot of existing data centres in Malaysia, as well as new ones being built.

That being said, we should partner these data centres with local developers that have been facilitated by the Government, so that the developers can have access to the public data for lower costs and assist them in the development of their games.

We should also remember that one of the reasons that Japan has managed to leave a widespread global cultural footprint can be attributed to the video games developed in Japan that have been imported to the world, such as Mario, Street Fighter, and most recently, Yakuza/Like A Dragon.”

YB Bangi, Syahredzan Johan berkata kerajaan sokongan tidak harus terhad kepada beri dana sahaja sekiranya mahu lihat permainan video bertaraf dunia datang dari Malaysia.#SisiTVParlimen #AWANInews #DewanRakyat pic.twitter.com/KS0DIzWpnD

— Astro AWANI (@501Awani) October 24, 2024

There you have it, folks, more support is always great and appreciated to further expand the growing Malaysian games industry.

For more from Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan, we also had the opportunity to interview him last year about esports and gaming in general, so head on over here for that.