SINGAPORE — Game developers here may soon get the opportunity to have their inventions published and distributed globally on the Nintendo platform, as part of a new collaboration between the Japanese firm and digital media university DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore (DigiPen).

The move comes as DigiPen announced today (July 20) it would establish DigiPen Game Studios (DGS), which will provide video game development and publishing support.

Under the DGS initiative, which is supported by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and Nintendo, select game developers will receive, among other assistance, mentorship, business support and game development expertise.

TODAY understands that the possibility of funding from MDA is in the works.

Mr Jason Chu, chief operating officer (international) of DigiPen, said: “DGS has two roles to play. First, it is an industry developer. Second, DGS is a publisher.

“In these two roles, DGS will help third-party developers in the South-east Asian region create and publish their games. As a result, we hope this will help develop the interactive entertainment industry further.”

Singapore’s gaming sector is going through an “exciting phase”, said Ms Angeline Poh, assistant chief executive (industry) at MDA.

“Expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 47 per cent in nominal value added from 2010 to 2013, our games sector has become the fastest-growing media category. Singapore’s video-game revenue is forecast to exceed half a billion US dollars by 2018,” she said.

DigiPen will begin calling for proposals from September, in which interested developers can submit their original game concepts. These concepts can include games meant for publishing on, but not limited to, Nintendo machines.

The studio is looking to accept up to 10 game titles every year, with select games to be digitally distributed to a global audience via the Nintendo eShop.

General manager of licensing at Nintendo, Mr Takao Yamane, who was also present at the launch today, said: “(Over the years), digital content has gained in popularity.

“We now have a solid digital foundation and we are confident in our ability to provide a comfortable development environment for (game) developers in Singapore.”