The UK and Irish Game Industries - The Video Game Industry: Formation, Present State, and Future - page 104

as well as major new industry trade conferences emerge to facilitate greater
networking. Signifi cantly, the shift to more adult content in games also
prompted the development of co- and self-regulation systems and new con-
tent rating systems. In the UK games with “gross violence” and “sexual
activity” must be classifi ed under the British Board of Film Classifi ca-
tion's (BBFC) fi lm rating system and it is a criminal of ence to sell them to
minors. 5 In Ireland the sale of games to minors is not a criminal of ence but
in both countries all games must be classifi ed by game publishers according
to the Pan European Game Information System (PEGI). Thus by the end of
the fi rst decade of the new millennium all nations had developed a range of
new institutions and policies to mediate the relationship between the global
games industry and the locale.
THE PRESENT: THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBALIZATION
Of the top ten games sold in the UK by unit sales in 2001 three of the
console games were developed in the UK— Who Wants to Be a Million-
aire (Eidos), Grand Theft Auto 3 (Take Two Interactive) and Harry Potter
and the Philosopher's Stone (Electronic Arts). Four of the top-selling PC
games were developed in the UK— Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Eidos),
Championship Manager 2 (Eidos), Rollercoaster Tycoon (Hasbro Interac-
tive) and Black and White (Electronic Arts). Intriguingly this list points to
signifi cant changes in the industry at the time, namely, the growth of tie-ins
with other media and the growth of franchises (Spectrum 2002, 17). The
Spectrum report for the Department of Trade and Industry in the UK found
that the British development industry's share of the U.S. and UK markets
was a distant third to the U.S. and Japan, and they were second to the
U.S. in the European market. Estimates of employment suggested that the
industry employed twenty thousand across all sub-sectors, including retail
and support services like legal. These numbers were less than half of those
employed in the U.S. but still the second largest globally. An estimated six
thousand worked in development directly (Spectrum 2002, 20).
The report's title, From Exuberant Youth to Sustainable Maturity , sig-
nalled that the industry was facing signifi cant challenges moving beyond
its cottage industry roots. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (SWOT) analysis of the industry noted that although the industry
was well known for its talent, has a strong local market, had strong indus-
try associations (TIGA and ELSPA) and was well placed between the U.S.
and European markets, it had a poor profi le in the investment community
and government oi ces in the UK, had limited access to fi nance and its
games had limited appeal outside its home market. There were also signs of
increased competition for workers and a fear that the industry might lose
talent to other countries. The report downplays the signifi cance of foreign
acquisition of UK publishers and developers.