The UK computer games development sector is at risk of losing
its competitive edge and being overtaken by Korea, Canada and China
in 2009.
In a report, Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology
and the Arts) says the UK games industry is suffering from a severe
skills shortage, a funding crisis and a poor record of online games
development.
Nesta says the government must step in to help the
situation.
The report, Raise the Game, looks at the competitiveness of the
UK's games development sector, and the impact that government
support in other countries is having on grabbing UK talent, in an
industry that will have a projected global turnover of £46bn in
2010.
The
report
concludes that the UK games development sector will slip to fifth
position in the global rankings in 2009 - a further slip from third
position in 2007.
The report details a lack of global scale publishers, limited
access to finance, and skill shortages as the key factors
constraining the UK capacity to generate new games ideas and
innovative genres.
Ian Livingstone, creative director at Eidos and "father" of Lara
Croft, said, "Despite the creative and technical talent that exists
in the UK, in the last six years, half of the independent
development studios have closed or have been bought by foreign
companies who see greater value in our studios and intellectual
property than we do ourselves."
He said, "The UK is becoming a work-for-hire nation and this
trend seems certain to continue unless government takes action.
Cash tills at games stores might be ringing loudly but not through
sales of games developed in the UK."
Nesta wants tax breaks from government to aid games
development.