Creative North

Phone and games go global

A dynamic West Yorkshire company specialising in developing games for mobile phones is pressing all the right buttons when it comes to global sales as well as giving some youngsters a head start in the industry.

Huddersfield based Creative North combines commercial game development with the Creative North Academy, a learning and skills-based environment offering work placements for students.

Working closely with the University of Huddersfield, Creative North gives talented undergraduates on its games development course a chance to show their creative sides. Teamed with experienced programmers and artists, the students work on commercial projects, some of which are already being sold overseas.

Director Phil Mundy said: “Our team is driven by a passion for games. It’s a very dynamic environment, and the studio has grown rapidly in line with growing demand for our services. Regarding the Academy, the aim is to get them actually working on commercial titles. The trainees are doing their courses alongside the placement and come into the development studio two days a week, but they often stay longer than the set hours as they are as committed as the professionals to meeting deadlines.”

Last year Creative North joined other companies from around the UK on a trade visit to China organised by UK Trade & Investment which gave the company a unique opportunity to explore its business potential in the market.

He added: “It was an intensive ten days in China. Our travel, itineraries, business introductions and translators were all taken care of by the UK Trade & Investment staff based in Shanghai, which was just as well as the sheer volume of people attending ChinaJoy, the massive trade fair we went to, could otherwise have been overwhelming. We particularly enjoyed the ‘speed dating’ sessions organised for us with potential Chinese partner companies. Having just half an hour with about 14 different companies one after another really makes you focus on your message. In our discussions with the Chinese companies we quickly realised that there were other opportunities for business that we hadn’t considered, such as being on the distribution end in the UK for some of the Chinese games developers.”

On return to the UK, Creative North began to follow up the business leads it had made in China and a partnership with a Chinese company soon followed.

Creative North is now adapting Chinese games for the UK market and placing them on websites for its partner company in China.

The company was only set up in 2004 and it is already selling its own games in nine different languages and working with international partners in a number of countries. Recent brand partners include Subbuteo, RBS 6 Nations, the Super League, Selatra and O2.       

Nigel Goddard, UK Trade & Investment’s digital & creative sector specialist is working with companies in the region like Creative North to help them identify overseas opportunities.

Nigel commented: “ChinaJoy is one of the largest digital trade fairs in the world but there are many others which can offer excellent networking opportunities as well as a chance to see what else is on the international market. Our UK Trade & Investment colleagues based in the embassies overseas try to ensure that each British company attending the trade fairs gets the most out of the event. Most companies come back to the UK highly motivated and with some solid business leads to follow up.”  

Website: www.creativenorth.co.uk