Game Developers Lobby Scottish Parliament for Tax Breaks

''Not everyone agreed, however. Some MSPs felt that sufficient incentives were already available to the video game industry. ''

pff... BS.

as somebody living in the UK , graduating as a game developer in about 2 months time, i can tell you that factually, saying the games industry already has enough incentives, is utter BS.

Its a FACT that all the best graduates are going abroad. The average wages for a developer in canada for instance are 30% better than inthe UK. For doing the SAME job. graduates wont, and ARE CURRENTY NOT staying in the UK, as prospects are better elsewhere (including france). The best talent is being haemorraged to competing countries and it is having a huge impact.

Currently myself and around 50% of the students im graduating with, are looking for positions abroad.

I know personally i would LOVE to work in the uk, but financially there is no WAY i can justify it.

As for the game studios themselves, they are paying out massive amounts for reasearch and development compared to other studios abroad, so can pay fewer employees les money. Hence lower productivity.

The UK games industry generates a huge amount of revenue for the UK , and now, more than ever, with the economic climate being as it is, the UK government in particular needs to step in and do something. Every year its becoming harder and harder for UK studios to keep heads above water.

And WHY should the talent here stay?

Why should the studios, managers, publishers, developers, artists etc stay?

When you have the option (increasingly attractive option day by day) to make everyones lives easier by setting up abroad the UK government is utterly stupid.

The problem is that the old fuddy duddies with the power dont have a clue. They see 'gaming' as immature, a bit of a joke, and dont take it seriously, despite the cold hard facts. So not only (as a uk developer) do we have to put up with crappyier wages, harder times making ends meed, we also have to put up with a shitty social stigma to go with it. A stigma that politicians do nothing but like to add to day by day, with remarks about 'nerds' ' geeks' and the wierd notion that all gamers are 15 yr old males sat in a basement playing nothing more advanced than 'pac-man' all day. Either that or accuse gamers of being socially inept violence loving, depraved psychopaths. 

Thanks. Wow.. i have so much reason to stay in the UK. your soooo right. The games industry already has enough incentives. Id be mad to go anywhere else. Thank you SOOOOO much. / SARCASM.