Game Developers Ignoring Connecticut Tax Credits
Game Developers Ignoring Connecticut Tax Credits
November 5, 2007
Connecticut.It's variously called the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and the Land of Steady Habits.
It's also home to longtime game industry nemesis Sen. Joseph Lieberman as well as the headquarters of the gamer-friendly Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) and its president, Hal Halpin.
But, despite tax incentives enacted by the state legislature, game developers haven't flocked to Connecticut. The Hartford Business Journal reports that they may not even be aware of the tax breaks. Karen Senich, a state official, told the Journal:
[The tax break] is in the statute and it has always included video games. We’ve had a lot of interest from the film industry, but not a single application for video games.
Connecticut did manage to attract the producers of the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was shot in New Haven. But states like Louisiana and Georgia, which have aggressively targeted game developers, have done better. Georgia, for example, now boast 50 game companies which employ 2,000 people.
Lack of promotion may be to blame for the failure of game developers to take advantage of the tax break, said Senich:
In the film industry, [word] just spread like wildfire within the industry. We participated in seminars to a degree, but it was really people within the industry talking to each other that got Connecticut noticed.
Have we gone out and actively pursued the video game developers? No. Was that deliberate on our part? No. There was a level of knowledge with the tax credits for the film industry and we just don’t have the kind of money that allows us to do too much.
Certainly, we would be very receptive to any company that would want to come to Connecticut and providing the tax credits if they meet the $50,000 threshold [needed to earn the credit]..."
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Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:40am
JDKJ: We can sit here all day and debate the relative merits. However, I think the events of recent days suggest that an FN Five-Seven ain't exactly the same as that Daisy BB gun you got for Christmas when you were a kid.
JDKJ: We can sit here all day and debate the relative merits. However, I think the events of recent days suggest that an FN Five-Seven ain't exactly the same as that Daisy BB gun you got for Christmas when you were a kid.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:38am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: tumbling can be quite dangerous. However, the rounds that commonly tumbled were variants of the SS90. Civilian ammo tends to tumble far less commonly.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: tumbling can be quite dangerous. However, the rounds that commonly tumbled were variants of the SS90. Civilian ammo tends to tumble far less commonly.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:33am
JDKJ: I understand that while they don't have much expansion effect, they tend to "yaw" on impact. Yaw can be almost just as damaging as mushrooming.
JDKJ: I understand that while they don't have much expansion effect, they tend to "yaw" on impact. Yaw can be almost just as damaging as mushrooming.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:30am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: Except when one considers the lack of expansion for the 5.7, it basically ends up leaving a far smaller hole.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: Except when one considers the lack of expansion for the 5.7, it basically ends up leaving a far smaller hole.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:29am
JDKJ: But if the latter's travelling at close to twice the speed of the former, there's a compensatory effect on the weight difference.
JDKJ: But if the latter's travelling at close to twice the speed of the former, there's a compensatory effect on the weight difference.
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Comments
Good luck figuring it all out. It is a shame that although it is meant for game studios, that they would make it so hard to implement.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.culturea...
http://www.fairfieldcountybusiness.com/archive/100807/1008070002.php4
http://www.cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2126&q=316550
There was an article a while ago about tax breaks in Texas. But there are very few states that offer them at the moment. There would probably be more if more governments took the video game industry more seriously. Everyone wants to get the film industry involved in their state, only because they recognize the income potential of movies. Video games not so much.
-GP
Preznit Bush was born in your room?
I need to get that sign.
I realize that it's been over 20 years since I lived in Connecticut (and made video games there), but I seem to remember that it failed to meet most of those criteria. It was comparatively expensive to live there (and closer to NYC it was even more expensive), the weather was slushy and cold in the winter and miserably humid in the summer, Hartford pretty much rolled up the sidewalks at 5:00 PM, and my company had to import 75% of development talent from sources outside the state. The proximity of Boston or NYC wasn't much of an attraction back then, since we were trying to coax talent out of those cities to come live and work in Hartford.
Maybe if they find a way draw development talent out of the insurance industry they'll do better ... and repealing the state income tax might help too.
But anyway, heh.. I didn't know the ECA was headquartered here.
I personally would wish more game developers would come here to CT, not just because of games, but because it might open up somemore IT jobs here, and as someone who has been trying to get an entry-level IT job in order to finish school, having more such jobs come in would be great for me.
That made me LOL and I'm a conservative (do have liberal beleifs though).
I will say seeing the filming of Indy 4 was awesome!
While comparing CT cost of living to California seems to be a favorable comparison, you have to take into account that California is not your state's competition for developers. Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, and North Carolina are growing hotbeds of game development (to name a few). And in every one of those states a potential developer's salary is going to go a lot further than Connecticut (based on cost of living comparisons). If that 30% Tax break goes directly into a 30% increase in employee salaries AND the developer is not based in the CT Gold Coast area, then CT is indeed comparable.
If growth of the development community follows patterns in other areas, then expect it to do so by "budding and shedding" as developers leave existing companies to create new ones. This is how the communities in Dallas and Austin have grown.
And you can always hope that Global Warming will make CT's climate more attractive.
To put things in perspective special sessions are always being called to finish up little things like the budget and bonding packages.
@Brandon Curiel
Where are you located? Also election day is tomorrow
I kid. GP, do you lean a bit left, or is it just me?
Do you have a problem with Left-Wing news sites?
And also, I don't know anyone who likes Lieberman. How can you vote for a person who sounds like he's whining when he speaks?
But one of my history teachers has a bumper sticker for Lieberman stuck on his wall, but he's strongly conservative. The sticker's a joke from him, or a practical joke from one of his classes one year..
We're based in Cromwell, about 15 min south of Hartford.
@Verbinator
Believe me, I'm not going to argue about CT being the cheapest place to live - it isn't. At the end of the day though, job is only part of the reason people choose to live someplace, and we have some luck getting people with family in the area or just like it here because it is what they are used to. Also, in terms of the region, it does give the state a leg up on New York and Mass so it helps for attracting regional talent.
In any case, if the program can give us an effective 30% tax credit, that will definitely help in terms of offering better bonus and compensation packages to the employees.