STEAM, VTC, Vietnam's First Gaming Expo, and a "No Name" Game Market
Last week, the Vietnamese gaming community was thrown into turmoil when Steam, the world's largest digital game distribution platform, experienced an access issue. Rumors quickly spread that VTC, a well-known local game publisher, was involved in the outage, leading to a surge of criticism directed at them. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, this incident became a hot topic of discussion and outrage among gamers. This controversy coincided with the second edition of Vietnam Gameverse, the country’s first true gaming expo.
I attended the expo myself and witnessed a microcosm of the local gaming industry, featuring games from domestic publishers, including VTC. While the event aimed to celebrate and promote the growth of Vietnam's gaming industry, the criticisms of "trash games" from disgruntled online voices lingered in my mind. It seemed unrelated, yet it somehow connected to the broader context of the industry.
On social media, many gamers didn’t hesitate to harshly criticize VTC, labeling their games as "cheap," "unplayed," and unworthy in today’s market. These games are often tagged as "Chinese games" or "no-name," leading players to feel their quality and value cannot compare to the myriad better choices available on Steam.
Although Steam has revolutionized Vietnamese gamers' habits, making it more common to purchase legitimate games in the past decade, the actual proportion of gamers who buy licensed games remains uncertain and likely lower than expected.
Given the vitriolic attacks on VTC, it’s worth questioning if the publisher truly releases games nobody cares about. Clearly, no publisher would release games with no audience; their ultimate goal is business. These "no-name" games must cater to niche groups we may not know exist, as I realized upon visiting the Phu Tho stadium last weekend. There, I saw people joyfully engaging with local publishers' booths, playing those very games.
I’ve never played the games showcased at the expo and don’t plan to, but seeing those gamers happily interacting made me realize they are more significant than my own preferences. They’ve found a place that belongs to them, and importantly, an official platform to discuss the games they play.
Being there made me see the development, challenges, and conflicts in meeting gamers' needs. The online verbal assaults on VTC seemed minor and soon to be forgotten, while Vietnam's gaming market will continue on its chosen path, for better or worse.
It appears that the gamers, games, and local publishers at the expo are the true protagonists of the market and industry, not those who are passionate about "offline" games on Steam, PlayStation, or Xbox, which might create a sense of "superiority."
If we believed we deserved more, the gaming expo at Phu Tho stadium would have resembled E3, Tokyo Game Show, or Gamescom, not ChinaJoy. The final moments of the expo included the Vietnam Gameverse Awards, where the last award was "Game Publisher of the Year." This made me laugh but also seemed fitting. It made sense in an absurd way, reflecting the current state of Vietnam's gaming industry.
There would be no Oscars or TGAs, nor any international award show where the "Publisher of the Year" is the most prestigious award. Yet here, with lights, music, and effects, it became clear who holds the real power in this young and contentious industry.
I left the expo deep in thought. I won’t be a customer of the games VTC, VNG Games, or other local publishers release. However, those cheerful gamers at the expo were acknowledged and celebrated with a dedicated gaming exhibition.
Vietnam Gameverse is the first proper gaming expo in Vietnam, but it’s more than that. Over the past half-decade, Vietnam has believed that such game fairs would foster industry growth. Today, expos like Vietnam Gameverse might pave an unlikely path, juxtaposing ambitions with other development routes like Steam, PC Game Pass, etc.
Top global publishers like Bandai Namco and SEGA have started appearing at gaming expos in neighboring Southeast Asian countries like Thailand Game Show, Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit in the Philippines, Indonesia Comic Con, and Malaysia's Comic Fiesta. While tens of thousands were happy to see their games and community at Vietnam Gameverse, it remains a reminder that this is still a local playground. The prospect of Bandai Namco, SEGA, or any other "offline" publishers attending seems distant, especially when Vietnam Gameverse aspires to become like China Joy or G-Star rather than E3, Tokyo Game Show, or Gamescom.
