TIGA,
the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today that the
UK Coalition Government should take the opportunity of the Chancellor’s Autumn
Statement to invest in the video games industry as part of a strategy of
driving regional economic growth.
TIGA made the statement in advance of the Extended
Play 2011, the South West’s first and only digital interactive festival taking
place in Plymouth. Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO is speaking at the festival.
Dr
Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:
“The
UK economy has grown by a mere 0.5 per cent over the last 12 months. The
Chancellor should include in his Autumn Statement on November 29th a
clear strategy for driving economic growth.
There has been much talk of rebalancing the economy. We also need to
ensure that all regions of the UK benefit from economic growth.
“The
UK games development sector is a high technology, R&D intensive, export
focused and high skills industry. It can also contribute to economic growth not
just in the South East but in many different parts of the UK.
“85
per cent of the development workforce is based outside of London. There are
many clusters of studios in the UK, including Guildford, Brighton, London,
Dundee, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester,
Cambridge, Oxford, Leamington Spar and Birmingham.
“The
Government can power the sector forward by introducing a well-targeted tax
break for games production; expanding the scope of the R&D tax credits to
cover the cost of IP protection, design costs and premises costs; and by
introducing a Creative Content Fund which could provide match funding for games
developers on a pound for pound basis.
“With
the right fiscal support, existing development clusters in the UK could grow
and a strong cluster of game development studios providing high skilled
employment could be fostered in the South West. The Chancellor should use part
of his Autumn Statement to give a boost to the UK game development sector and
so contribute to regional economic growth.”
Ends
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. In 2010 TIGA won two
business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade
Association Forum. In 2011, TIGA won six business awards including ‘Trade
Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum and ‘Outstanding
Organisation’ from the Chartered Management Institute.
Richard Wilson won the ‘Leadership Award’
from the Trade Association Forum and the ‘Outstanding Leader’ award from the
Chartered Management Institute. TIGA is an Investors in People 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.