Video games in Kenya
The
History
The earliest known game development in Kenya was around
In November 2007, NexGen was formed, a company by video game enthusiasts Nathan Masyuko and Ayub Makimei. Inspired in the mid-'90s by the Nintendo Entertainment System and works of Hideo Kojima, Masyuko built a gaming center in 2009 from where the company hosts gaming tournaments. NexGen has been taking efforts to get esports off the ground in Kenya, with limited success.[3] In 2010, Planet Rackus formed. The company released Ma3Racer on the Nokia Ovi Store, expecting around 10,000 downloads over a year, but the game became popular with its primarily African audience was downloaded over 900,000 times within that time span.[1]
Masyuko met
Though in 2007, there existed only a handful of retail stores predominantly selling video games, this number has gone up in recent years. In 2009, Kenya laid the first of its underseas
In June 2015, Kenyan company
In events, a young video game entertainment company called
Current situation
The Kenyan government plans to harness the technological progress of the country as part of its Vision 2030 plan, transforming the country into a "globally competitive and prosperous nation." This plan also involves the construction of a "Silicon Savannah," which is described as "Africa's answer to Silicon Valley." Despite these plans, unemployment is common in Kenya, and a failed ICT project could leave a young person without a job to fall back on.[1] The rise of game development is creating jobs in the region.[3]
In 2017 an Indie game studio (VEGA GAMING INC by developer M.E. Marvega)was set up in the nation's capital, and went on to release 3 games by the end of 2020. One of which was exclusive for Android users.
Their main focus now lies in creating AAA games for the larger African market with open world games like GUERILLA_MAFIA and YASHI CULT (an intense horror game). Such developers are keen on pushing the limits of Kenyan game development and in essence the scope of African games.
Foreign
According to Masyuko, African game development is mainly focused on
Many
In
A new culture has also been adopted whereby some gamers in Kenya have started their own
Local philosophies
According to Brian Kinyua from four-man team
Leti Arts commonly does contract development for
Kenyan developers are mostly interested in making what they call "African games." According to Kirinya, what is important is that Kenyan games should tap into African cultural heritage, such as using traditional
The colors, the ambiance, a lot of what people call earth colors — yellows, browns ... And then there's the sound part of it. There's a lot of percussion; the beat is a bit different. There's all these African sort of instruments. ... If it's an Age of Empires of Africa, you would not see an army with a full suit of armor — a full-cast armor.
— Wesley Kirinya[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Moss, Richard (2013-07-03). "Big Game: The Birth of Kenya's Game Industry". Polygon.
- ^ a b c Agundo, Harrison. "Video gaming opens revenue doors for tech savvy entrepreneurs". BizAble.
- ^ a b c Mulupi, Dinfin (2013-01-16). "Video games – Kenya's new emerging industry with 'huge scope'". How We Made It In Africa.
- ^ Mugendi, Eric. "'Nairobi X' puts Kenya on world gaming map". The East African. The EastAfrican. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Mungai, Njambi (2015-06-24). "Defend Kenya: Africa's first 3D video game developed in Kenya now available". Standard Digital.
- ^ Meyerfield, Mat Bruno (2015-08-17). "" Nairobi X ", le premier jeu-vidéo africain, conçu au Kenya". Le Monde.
- ^ "Is this Africa's first 3D video game? Aliens invade a nation and good citizens rise to its defence". Mail & Guardian Africa. 2015-07-01.
- ^ Jefwa, Baraka (2016-08-11). "ASUS, Gaming for Kenya show support for gamers in Kenya". CIO.
- ^ a b Donian, Christian (2013-04-01). "Meet Kenya's indie gaming pioneers". Eurogamer.
- ^ a b Nelson, Jasmine (2015-07-18). "African Games Maker Allan Mukhwana Hopes to Take His Business International". Atlanta Blackstar.
- ^ "Pro Series Gaming (PSG)". Pro Series Gaming. 2017-12-09.
- ^ "Tekken 254 Circuit". Tekken 254. 2018-01-10.
- ^ "Pan African Gaming Union - PAGU Championship". Pan African Gaming Union. 2018-04-26.
- ^ "RIIG League". Holos Gaming Matrix. 2018-03-10.
- ^ "KINGS eSports Call Of Duty Championship". Gaming For Kenya. 2016-08-10.
- ^ "Vivid Gold ePlay". Vivid Gold. 2014-04-10.
- ^ "Top 6 Kenyan Gamers". Nerd Side. 2014-08-05.
- ^ "Video games in Kenya for Rent online". Happy Wishy. Retrieved 2019-07-05.