SCOTLAND’S computer games industry can teach lessons to its counterpart south of the Border on how to bounce back after big companies such as Realtime Worlds close, according to the head of the sector’s trade body.
In his New Year message, Richard Wilson – chief executive of Tiga – said Scotland had “hit back” after Dundee-based Realtime Worlds went bust in 2010, with lots of smaller companies rising from its ashes.
He highlighted the closure of Bizarre Creations in Liverpool, Black Rock in Brighton and Codemasters in Guildford all in the past year and said the towns could learn lessons from the way Dundee has coped. Wilson renewed his calls for the UK government to introduce a tax credit for computer games developers – a proposal put forward by Labour but then scrapped by the coalition – and for it to launch a creative content fund that would use public money to help stimulate private sector investment in the sector.
He added: “It is forecast that 2012 will be a tough year for the economy but, with UK government investment, the video gaming sector will grow.”
Wilson also praised the Scottish Government for its support.
