Page 1478 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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In the ACT we have successful games companies like BigWorld, one of the world’s leading developers of massively multiplayer online games; Micro Forte, a veteran games development studio with collaborations with games publishers such as Ripcord, Electronic Arts, Interplay, THQ, Universal Interactive and Microsoft; 2k Marin in Canberra, one of only two publisher-owned console studios remaining in Australia; Panther Games; Sunrise Games; AIE, which I have already mentioned, one of the world’s major schools for games development; and not forgetting the ANU’s Centre for New Media Arts. In turn, what we have is a natural games cluster ready for further industry development.
If games titles like SWAT, Bioshock, Freedom Force, Fallout Tactics, Enemy Infestation and Epoch sound remotely familiar, they are games with a Canberra pedigree. From regular computer games to the latest app on our mobile phones, Canberra is poised to take advantage of this opportunity. According to a PWC report, by 2015 this industry will be worth $2.5 billion in Australia alone with a compound annual growth of 9.5 per cent, and globally $90.1 billion with a compound growth of 8.2 per cent.
This technology is mainstream. There is a hidden revolution happening with the games industry and that is because it is going mainstream. It is no longer just a teenage boy pastime. Computer games are found in almost every household and are part of a family’s mix of entertainment.
Take the following as an example. According to a study conducted by Bond University for the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, in the seven years since 2005 the proportion of female gamers has grown from 38 per cent to 47 per cent, with parity with male gamers expected to happen soon; 95 per cent of Australian households with children under 18 years old have at least one device for playing computer games; family games accounted for 19 per cent of game sales, ahead of shooting, action, racing and sports games; 50 per cent of parents said that games were an enjoyable way to spend time with their children; 40 per cent of children asked their parents to play computer games with them; 83 per cent of parents with children under 18 years old are regular computer game players, up from 70 per cent in 2008; 75 per cent of people over 18 years old are gamers, whilst 94 per cent aged six to 15 are gamers. And, more interestingly, 43 per cent of people aged 51 or older are gamers—debunking the myth that only young people play computer games.
The point to be emphasised here is that Canberra has the talent and knowhow to be part of this new wave of mainstream games acceptance and to capitalise on this trend. Yet for this to happen organisations like the AIE and other ACT games companies need government leadership and support to further grow this sector in Canberra.
It is worth noting that in the government’s March 2008 innovation report entitled Innovation, creativity and leadership: report of a study of the ACT innovation system, a recommendation put forward stated the following:
In view of the potential for the creative sector to make a stronger contribution to economic development, the ACT government give consideration to making further investments to build capability. In particular, initiatives to accelerate the bridging of the creative and technology sectors should be examined.
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