TIGA, the trade association representing the UK gamesindustry, says Kickstarter's move into the UK will be a boost for
self-publishing developers.
Crowd-funding website Kickstarter has been responsible for
helping finance dozens of games and videogame hardware projects.
They include the new Broken
Sword by York-based Revolution Software which raised $800,000 – twice the
initial asking price. But this route – until now – was only available for
developers employing someone who was a permanent US resident with a Social
Security Number.
TIGA says opening Kickstarter to UK-based developers will
lead to a rise in self-publishing and that crowd-funding is a great way to
raise finances.
Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:
“Not only does crowd-funding generate funds for
projects, it also encourages backers to get involved in a project. They begin
to feel close to the project and this level of enthusiasm and funding enables
developers to produce better, more creative games.”
Other crowd-funding websites have already enabled UK
companies to achieve their dreams. Indiegogo was used by the filmakers behind From Bedrooms to Billions which TIGA
financially backed.
Notes
to editors:
About
TIGA:
TIGA
is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The
majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house
publisher owned developers. We also have games publishers, outsourcing
companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. TIGA
was awarded ‘Trade Association of the Year’ and the ‘Member Recruitment Award’
at the Trade Association Forum Best Practice Awards 2010. TIGA has also been
named as a finalist in the 2010 Chartered Management Institute (CMI) National
Management and Leadership Awards in the category of ‘The Outstanding
Organisation of the Year Award (SME)’. TIGA is an ‘Investors in People’
accredited organisation.
TIGA's
vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games
business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation,
generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the
competitiveness of our members. This means that TIGA members are
effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the
media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their
businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial
opportunities.
For further
information, please contact Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or
email richard.wilson@tiga.org.