This is a brainchild of mine.
Most (if not all) countries have some government intervention in culture. Theatre, films, art, music, literature, museums: - these things all tend to have subsidies, tax breaks, regulations or other state control. For whatever reason, the market is not given a free reign.
Why should games development be different? I can't think of any reason why the state shouldn't, at least, take an interest. After all, there are endless panics about the state of the British film industry, or Scottish Opera, or the dumbing down of TV.
So I propose a publicly owned games company for the UK (although it could work for most countries). First off, don't worry about taxpayers' money propping up profitless games; this company would be required to support itself entirely by its own commerical activities. Like Channel Four, it would be state-owned, but not state-funded. And like Channel Four, it would have a public service remit requiring it to produce games that would otherwise not be made.
There'd be stuff like:
* Games set in the UK
* More characters from ethnic minorities
* Games about the First World War
* Gay characters in games
* More games in niche genres... like TBS
* An emphasis on creativity and innovation
And so on. There'd be more conventional stuff as well, to help with the funding.
Now, before any free-marketeers have a go at me, it might be worth remembering that there's already a state backed game out there... America's Army. Market-driven homogeneity is one thing, military-backed games are something else entirely.
Most (if not all) countries have some government intervention in culture. Theatre, films, art, music, literature, museums: - these things all tend to have subsidies, tax breaks, regulations or other state control. For whatever reason, the market is not given a free reign.
Why should games development be different? I can't think of any reason why the state shouldn't, at least, take an interest. After all, there are endless panics about the state of the British film industry, or Scottish Opera, or the dumbing down of TV.
So I propose a publicly owned games company for the UK (although it could work for most countries). First off, don't worry about taxpayers' money propping up profitless games; this company would be required to support itself entirely by its own commerical activities. Like Channel Four, it would be state-owned, but not state-funded. And like Channel Four, it would have a public service remit requiring it to produce games that would otherwise not be made.
There'd be stuff like:
* Games set in the UK
* More characters from ethnic minorities
* Games about the First World War
* Gay characters in games
* More games in niche genres... like TBS
* An emphasis on creativity and innovation
And so on. There'd be more conventional stuff as well, to help with the funding.
Now, before any free-marketeers have a go at me, it might be worth remembering that there's already a state backed game out there... America's Army. Market-driven homogeneity is one thing, military-backed games are something else entirely.
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