Parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet OfficeTom Watsonhas said "serious" computer
games can play a "substantial role" in getting the UK through
thedownturn.
He said not only could
serious games help in the imminent recession, but could "help
pave the way for what comes after".
"The government's constant aim is to improve delivery of public
services, but the economic downturn means that right now, we have
pretty much no margin for error," he Watson added.
"Delivering more for less has never been so important, at least
not in my lifetime, and serious games can play a substantial role
in helping do that at a time when public services will be more and
more in demand."
He said in a speech last night at a Serious Games conference
that they have the potential to revolutionise health, education,
defence and emergency response through training, modelling and
simulations.
Watson added the video game industry could buck the
current downward economic trend, with November being
Microsoft's biggest sales month in Europe for the Xbox 360. In
the US, video game sales jumped 18% in October, with overall sales
of consoles and software up 57% over the past year.
But he added that despite the increasing importance of the
industry, his parliamentary colleagues still don't credit
technology with the respect it deserves.
"You would be amazed at the resistance I still find to
technology in parliament," he said. "It can be mind-boggling to
listen to politicians, from all parties, dismiss technology as
completely irrelevant to what they do."