The UK and Irish Game Industries - The Video Game Industry: Formation, Present State, and Future - page 111

bodies might merge, but the publisher/developer split remains in the trade
associations. 15 A suspicion that members of UKIE might have actually lob-
bied against the introduction of a game tax credit in 2010 because of the sug-
gestion that games might be conceptualized as “cultural products” seems to
have infl uenced this. 16 Labelling games as cultural products would have legal
and economic consequences for the sale of games in Europe.
This discourse seeking state support is surprising given that the dis-
course of the creative industries is premised on entrepreneurship and IP
generation and was initially seen as a way to move away from the public
subsidies and supports which had been associated with traditional cultural
policy. For UKIE the discourse has narrowed to one of national lobbying
to obtain state fi nancial support and activities aimed at countering game
piracy and crime prevention. This is clearly important because most of the
IP is owned by multinational publishers. For TIGA the discourse is still
focused on supporting development companies but is also now focused on
lobbying the UK government for assistance and, as we will discuss later, a
neo-liberal approach to education.
The pessimism of these UK reports contrasts with reports written by
bodies outside the UK who note that “the UK is the absolute leader (in
Europe) with 23 out of the 27 European top ranking (development) studios”
(De Prato et al. 2010, 149). Indeed, the UK games industry is still a signifi -
cant industry player in European terms and the trade focus on the need for
production tax credits is driven less by the decline of the UK industry and
more, it would appear, by a desire to reduce taxes paid to the “host” state
relative to taxes paid in other countries. In particular it is driven by com-
petition for multinational game development projects with Canada who
of er attractive state and federal tax credits and have cheaper labour costs.
For example, Quebec of ers a 37.5 per cent tax rebate on top of generous
federal grant schemes, the state of Georgia in the U.S. of ers a 20 per cent
tax refund and France of ers a 20 per cent tax credit on certain types of
games production. As the industry consolidates publisher-owned develop-
ment studios are relocating to locations with better cost advantages and
these same publishers and publisher/developers are lobbying hard through
national trade associations for greater support in national markets.
What appears to be missing from this discourse is any discussion of
the fact that the UK government, often with assistance from the European
Commission, already supports its games industry—see, for example, the
activities of regional innovation bodies including Games Northwest, Game
Horizon in the North East ( http://www.gamehorizon.net/) and Game
Republic in Yorkshire ( http://gamerepublic.net/). Pu blic funding is available
to fund trade missions to other countries, to attend trade conferences, and
for training initiatives. The Scottish government meanwhile has invested
heavily in various incubator and digital media parks including the Embre-
onix incubator, the Dundee Digital Media Park, the Seabraes centre and
the Pacifi c quay in Glasgow. Other public/private initiatives have included