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Nicholas Lovell
Home   >   Analysis and Opinion   >   Opinion   >   TIGA didn’t call for a video games council. Quite the reverse.

TIGA didn’t call for a video games council. Quite the reverse.

By on August 6, 2010

I got in a bit of trouble for my post Be careful what you wish for: UK games industry gets parity with films as government abolishes the Film Council.

My broad point was that on issues such as tax breaks and cultural recognition, the games industry often resorts to the beggar-thy-neighbour approach such as “Canada has tax breaks” or “film is treated with respect, why aren’t we”.

I think that we should be proud to stand up on our two feet and stop comparing ourselves elsewhere.

And to be fair to TIGA they often say the same thing, at least on the Film Council. In their manifesto released before the election, they have this to say about suggestions about either the creation of a Video Game Council or that the erstwhile Film Council should have its remit extended to cover games:

It has been suggested that either a UK Video Games Council should be established or that the remit of the existing Film Council should be extended to embrace the video games sector.

If the purpose of these proposals is to raise the profile of the games industry vis-a-vis policy makers, or to ensure that the sector is represented in discussions with them, then there is little advantage in this proposal. TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, already champions the cause of the UK games sector. There is no need to establish another quango for this purpose, or or to extend the remit of the Film Council to achieve this end.

So TIGA, for one, did not want a Video Games Council. I’m happy to set the record straight.

About Nicholas Lovell

Nicholas is the founder of Gamesbrief, a blog dedicated to the business of games. It aims to be informative, authoritative and above all helpful to developers grappling with business strategy. He is the author of a growing list of books about making money in the games industry and other digital media, including How to Publish a Game and Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games, and Penguin-published title The Curve: thecurveonline.com