TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, strongly believes UK games developers are well-placed to take advantage of Microsoft's newly announced SmartGlass technology which bridges the gap between smartphones, tablets and consoles.
The organisation welcomed the raft of innovation at this year's E3 videogame show in Los Angeles. Xbox Smartglass, however, will enable the UK's growing expertise in the mobile gaming sector to flourish, enabling them to bring a fresh approach to console gaming
The media conference held by Microsoft showcased two games: Madden 13 and Halo. Madden gamers could choose plays on their tablet and play the main game on television. With Halo, players could examine weaponry and use Xbox Live on a tablet. It is similar in concept to the Wii U, which has a tablet of its own, yet works with the millions of existing devices.
Both products, says TIGA, will be revolutionary but the UK's expertise with Android, iOS and Windows Phone technology will enable it to make great strides in this new tie-up space.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA's CEO, said:
“Many developers in the UK have turned to the production of games for tablets and smartphones due to the low barriers to entry. The costs of making the games and the ease with which they can be distributed has enabled many small studios to flourish.
“This has enabled companies in the UK to flex their creativity and it is heartening to see a major console manufacturer realising the role that smartphones and tablets can play in gaming. We urge developers overseas to tap into the UK's rich resource in this respect and we are also sure that this country's talent will spot the opportunities which lie ahead.”
Colin Anderson, TIGA board member and MD of Dundee based Denki, said:
“Smartglass is exactly the sort of technology that could have added an extra dimension to our own game Quarrel that launched for Xbox LIVE Arcade back in January. By enabling players to make words individually on their own devices rather than collectively on the large screen we would have been able to incorporate one of the most commonly requested additional features – a local multiplayer mode. That’s something we simply couldn’t do without a technology like this to enable it.
“I’m really pleased to see Microsoft opening up their hardware in this way, and I’m sure there are already lots of UK developers keen to differentiate their own games by taking advantage of the creative possibilities Smartglass offers.”
Last year, TIGA's State of the Development Sector Report., showed that an increasing number of videogame developers in the UK were turning to self-publishing, with the smartphone market emerging as the most popular gaming platform. It found that 47 per cent of UK game developers self-publish games and of those, 67 per cent develop for the Apple iPhone. Android has emerged as a major force for gaming too.
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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. Since 2010, TIGA has won 11 business awards and has been nominated a finalist for 9 other awards. In 2010 TIGA won two business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum. In 2011, TIGA won eight business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum, ‘Outstanding Organisation’ from the Chartered Management Institute and two Global Business Excellence Awards, including ‘Outstanding Marketing Campaign’. Richard Wilson won the ‘Leadership Award’ from the Trade Association Forum and the ‘Outstanding Leader’ award from the Chartered Management Institute. In 2012, Richard Wilson won the IoD’s East of England Director of the Year Award. 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.