The interactive digital media scene in Singapore continues to be abuzz, attracting new investments and international recognition.

Since 2006, the Interactive Digital Media Programme Office (IDMPO) in MDA has supported more than 400 research and development projects and some 2,000 researchers, scientists and engineers. The support resulted in the delivery of some 500 products and services, and the publishing of more than 1,000 research papers. Start-ups have also achieved follow-on funding from third party investors.

Two of them are Affle and KAI Square. Affle, a Singapore mobile advertising company secured over S$13 million worth of investments from D2 Communications, Japan’s largest mobile advertising company; while KAI Square, a company specialising in innovative technology-related surveillance services and monitoring solutions, ventured into overseas markets such as China, Taiwan and Bangkok after raising an investment of S$3 million.

In 2012, Affle together with Garena Online, an online gaming services provider and distributor and JamiQ, a social media monitoring company were ranked among Red Herring’s Top 100 Asia and Top 100 Global companies.

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken by Ratloop Asia
was ranked third on the top-selling games in Asia
on the Vita console in 2012

Autumn Dynasty by Touch Dimensions is one of
the top five "New Ways To Play" iPad games
in Apple's Mac App Store Best of 2012 awards

Separately, the Games Solution Centre (GSC), which was launched by MDA at Mediapolis Phase 0 in October 2011 to nurture local game companies, had since attracted 25 tenants. During the year in review, the centre organised events and networking sessions to help its tenants explore business collaborations. One of the games developed in the Games Solution Centre, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken by Ratloop Asia which was released on Sony PlayStation network in 2011, had developed a Sony PSVita version and was ranked third on the top-selling games in Asia on the Vita console in 2012.

In addition, Touch Dimensions’ Autumn Dynasty, a game on the Singapore Game Box portal (www.singaporegamebox.com) offered by the GSC to raise awareness of Singapore-made games, was named one of the top five “New Ways to Play” iPad games in Apple's official Mac App Store Best of 2012 awards. It has also been downloaded more than 72,000 times since its release in May 2012 for the iPad.

MDA also supported Singapore game companies to participate in international game events such as Game Developers Conference and Electronic Entertainment Expo.