Frankly, in PC-centric genres, the prevalence of console in the gaming habits of the country is probably today one of the main factors of why said country doesn't produce that many games in these genres, as it has already been said.
However, I also fancy another hypothesis : the opportunity cost of these games is far greater in a country like the United States which is one of the main players in the high-budget part of the industry than it is in most of European countries (with France being, perhaps, the only exception).
Think about it : you are an aspiring game developer. In the United States, you can join a lot of big studios, create games which people will actually hear about and make quite a few bucks (less than in other industries for sure, but nothing to spit on). In Sweden, Russia or Germany, you don't have as many opportunities, so you'll be more likely to end up making low or mid-budget games for a niche market (and, thus, increase your probability of producing a game worthy of Codex respect).
Same thing if you are an investor: in America, you have many teams (or potential teams) that you know are capable of producing a game for the mass market. In most European countries, they are far fewer, and the most visible are already well funded, so it becomes more reasonable to put money into a mid-budget game for a less saturated market, which can still prove very profitable.
However, I also fancy another hypothesis : the opportunity cost of these games is far greater in a country like the United States which is one of the main players in the high-budget part of the industry than it is in most of European countries (with France being, perhaps, the only exception).
Think about it : you are an aspiring game developer. In the United States, you can join a lot of big studios, create games which people will actually hear about and make quite a few bucks (less than in other industries for sure, but nothing to spit on). In Sweden, Russia or Germany, you don't have as many opportunities, so you'll be more likely to end up making low or mid-budget games for a niche market (and, thus, increase your probability of producing a game worthy of Codex respect).
Same thing if you are an investor: in America, you have many teams (or potential teams) that you know are capable of producing a game for the mass market. In most European countries, they are far fewer, and the most visible are already well funded, so it becomes more reasonable to put money into a mid-budget game for a less saturated market, which can still prove very profitable.
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