Your help needed: Gamers urged to petition Prime Minister

waterproofbob

waterproofbob

Junior Administrator
Developers are asking consumers to help bring awareness to the growing problems in the UK development industry, by signing an online petition targeted at the Prime Minister.

The movement was started by 20 year-old animator Dan Spence, spurred on in part by the recent restructuring of Eidos and the downsizing of its UK operation.

In protest, Spence contacted trade association Tiga, stating: "I see the government is offering tax relief for UK movies but for some reason the games industry has been set aside. I find this so hard to believe considering the strength in output from UK studios."

"We are looking on in horror as flagship UK company Eidos, who created the iconic Lara Croft, is facing problems of competing in a global environment" says the documentation filed with the petition.

"The UK games industry requires tax incentives or some other assistance to maintain a competitive market for global publishers."

Yesterday, UK trade association ELSPA expressed disappointment that the UK government had failed to address the industry in its yearly budget.

To view the petition, click here.
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the article
 
M

merrickal

Guest
I know friends who're trying to start their own company, definitely signed.
 
T

[THN]Buffalo_Hunter

In Cryo Sleep
"The UK games industry requires tax incentives or some other assistance to maintain a competitive market for global publishers."

Why? Other countries don't, so why should we? Why should taxpayers money be used to support a profit-making from which I won't profit? I don't think any independant company should get tax breaks or subsidies, and it should be the same everywhere.

Read this article to see how well tax breaks for the British film industry are being "used":

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1484256,00.html
 
thatbloke

thatbloke

Junior Administrator
Found an email in my inbox today with a goverment response to this petition.

The email links me to this page, which says the following:

The Government said:
The Government takes seriously the contribution of the UK's creative industries to the economy and to the UK's cultural richness. Creative Britain - New talents for the New Economy, published earlier this year, set out the 26 commitments with which the Government would support the creative industries.

In that document, the Government committed to making sure that the creative industries, including the games sector, were aware of and made the best use of the generous Research and Development tax credits for small and medium-sized enterprises, introduced by the Government in 2000. The Government has already been promoting the credit within the industry.

The Government must be mindful of the need to ensure fair competition and value for money for tax payers whilst ensuring that any tax incentives are supported by evidence. The Government is conscious of the recent approval of a cultural tax relief for games in France and is working with the UK industry to collect and review the evidence for introducing such a credit in the UK.
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AcidK

AcidK

New Member
[THN]Buffalo_Hunter said:
"The UK games industry requires tax incentives or some other assistance to maintain a competitive market for global publishers."

Why? Other countries don't, so why should we? Why should taxpayers money be used to support a profit-making from which I won't profit? I don't think any independant company should get tax breaks or subsidies, and it should be the same everywhere.

Read this article to see how well tax breaks for the British film industry are being "used":

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1484256,00.html
Click to expand...


Japan subsidises it's gaming industry to allow the vast and growing number of japanese programmers / designers to allow them to get paid a proper amount. Beleive it or not, the Games Industry is the lowest paid IT-based job area within the UK, even lower than being a BT call-desk clerk as well as the technology not always being the best it can be. Unlike America, the UK games industry is not backed by massive corporations and corporate-styled sponsorships (advertising within games does not count).
 
Dragon

Dragon

Well-Known Member
Jesus and over here in Germany computer games are still blamed for being the cause of every psycho doing shitty things -.-
I hate it if politicians simply try to find scapegoats for everythign they aren't capable of dealing with.
 
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