£47 per play video game

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The stupid British government is misspending a fortune. One example is forcing climate change propaganda down our throats. Mainly to justify hitting us with more and more “green” taxes. And part of their propaganda effort was a video game.

According to the Tax Payers Alliance: “The Yigal Allon Educational Trust received a grant of £49,480 to produce a “fun and engaging multi-player computer where the player’s role is to decide on local environmental policy, and interact with other players to decide global policy…………The report says that 1,048 active sessions (games with at least one player) created between July 2007 and April 2008. That implies that the project cost around £47 in grant funding per game played…..”

Under this government the British video game industry has gone from being third in the world (behind America and Japan) to almost certainly sixth (behind Canada, Korea and China). One of the main reasons for this decline (which has cost the country many billions) is government ignorance, ineptitude and apathy. Especially compared with more enlightened governments elsewhere. One example was the tax regime that they devised for the film industry (reflecting the risk and financing problems) which has been a great success. But which they did not extend to the game industry which was beset with identical problems. Yet they can throw money away at misguided propaganda when it suits them

There is a solution to this problem. Shortly there will be a general election and we can vote in a better regime (it can hardly be worse, can it?) and this interview with Ed Vaizey gives us some idea what to expect.

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9 Comments


  1. Hey Bruce. Would you agree that China’s extraordinary investment in their games industry in the last decade identifies them as one of the more enlightened governments you describe?


  2. hi bruce, I was just wondering if you will be coming back to the RLLMUK forums?

    I enjoyed reading your insightful posts and entertaining comments.

    regards

    Jim


  3. I had a look at that rite2no video, can’t believe they’re showing this shit to kids. According to the film if we don’t stop using fossil fuel by 2020 everyone will have to wear sunglasses and wasps will regulary invade classrooms. I mean, I’m not one of the global – warming – is – a – lie – from – satan crowd but I think it’s ludicrous that they’re shoving this crap down kids’ throats.


  4. Maybe the same guy that sold those bomb detectors made this game. I could make a better game for that money!


  5. Hi Bruce,

    I assume you can quote credible, peer-reviewed sources for your claim that all this global warming stuff is propaganda?

    Or that the British economy would be ‘many billions’ better off. Got a report by a noted economist supporting that?

    No. Didn’t think so.

    But of course, this is your website, you aren’t reporting things so you don’t need to let facts get in the way of bile.


  7. While I do agree with you on the lack of governement support for UK videogames industry (the case is the same for some others countries in Europe), I don’t think it’s relevant to blame them for their financial support to such use of videogames for communication.

    On the opposite, I think that such projects, that we call “Serious Games” (i.e. Game designed for an additional purpose besides entertainement, usually communication or training) are one of the possible way for the videogame industry to get a new strengh.

    Entertainement videogames are harder to create and to sell, so when we see the rise of a new “market” where the financial risk is no longer on the developer (as the governement or the company who ordered a Serious Game is paying for the game, no matter how successufl it is), I think we should be happy instead of angry.

    Of course, in this model there is no real need for a publisher/editor. But for development studios (especially small and middle-sized ones) it’s a very promosing opportunity to get contracts.

    Moreover, the british Serious Games industry is currently one of the strongest in the world (behind USA), so if this time UK governement is wise enough to avoird making the same mistakes it did for the entertainment game industry, I think we should all be happy and avoid blaming them so hard.


  8. Ah, of course, objective views on climate change from a site called “Pistonheads”.


  9. I am not getting into a debate about supposed climate warming on here. The eco nutters are as bad as religious fundamentalists or Sony fanboys.

    Suffice to say that if you are a scientist and talk up MMGW you get lots of money. If you don’t you get nothing. Which is why the pro MMGW scientists keep getting it very wrong. Himalayan glaciers and polar bear population for instance. Of course the eco nutter don’t notice the facts because they run on faith.

    That’s it. No more comments on the climate, I will just delete them. Talk about the £47 per play game.

Comments are closed.