Tax Cut for British game developers

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FT-1

FT-1

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PrecisionXCIV
So I just saw this article on CarThrottle:
http://www.carthrottle.com/uk-gaming-industry-catches-a-break-with-new-tax-relief/

To sum up, British game developers are now able to claim up to 25% of their production costs as tax credits, but the catch is that games have to be more patriotic; the more 'Britishness' it has, the more tax funds game companies will be able to reclaim.

What do you think it implies for future games by British developers? More British cars/scenery in games by Codemasters and Slightly Mad Studios? Or even a GTA London? Post your thoughts!
 
I remember reading about this possibility not too long after Studio Liverpool got shut down. Bad timing...

I am concerned about this resurgence of British content/focus...not a good route to take.
 
MeanElf
I remember reading about this possibility not too long after Studio Liverpool got shut down. Bad timing...

I am concerned about this resurgence of British content/focus...not a good route to take.
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Because...
 
Personally, I would say focusing on British content (particularly environments) adds more variety to games. For instance, many open world driving games usually focus on American settings, so imagine a game based in a UK setting, whether it is a City or countryside B-roads, for a change.
 
MeanElf
I remember reading about this possibility not too long after Studio Liverpool got shut down. Bad timing...

I am concerned about this resurgence of British content/focus...not a good route to take.
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Sony decided to shut down SL. Nothing to do with their finances.
 
Classic
Sony decided to shut down SL. Nothing to do with their finances.
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Yeah, I know that (but forgot to add it in the post above ;)) probably because I remember saying something similar when this news broke back then.
dhandeh
Because...
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Sorry, given the penchant for isolationism and regularly resurgent racism in the UK I assumed most would follow my drift - apologies therefore.
 
MeanElf
Yeah, I know that (but forgot to add it in the post above ;)) probably because I remember saying something similar when this news broke back then.

Sorry, given the penchant for isolationism and regularly resurgent racism in the UK I assumed most would follow my drift - apologies therefore.
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Give 3 examples of racist games made in the UK.
 
Having lived and worked in many different countries I don't think the UK has got any bigger problem with racism than any other country. In fact probably less than some.

There is a bit of an island mentality among some but I don't see anything wrong with the UK government encouraging gamers to draw on British culture rather than trying to copy the Americans.

Personally I welcome the prospect of more variety, I wish more countries would do this.
 
Yeah, I've worked and lived in several other countries too, and some are worse than others, true. Perhaps my comment was misleading though, I feel that the whole 'Buy British' movement that has been around on and off since the late 70s has had a bad flavour to the way it has been brought forward to the public.

Not saying that a game developer will misuse it, I just wonder why we should have such an incentive in the first place? It didn't work for France with their film industry of the 80s that would only state fund French speaking films with no outside influence and purely French actors - very little came out of that.

Surely, giving games developers a good tax break will result in games developers who survive longer, potentially making more and better games, thereby showing the world that the UK is a force to reckon with in the game production industry. Now, isn't that a better way of putting it rather than slapping pointless provisos onto the deal?
 
I remember the buy British campaigns from the 70s. I don't think they were done very well, almost as bad as Buzby for BT. On the other hand Britain seems to be giving away it's culture for one reason or another and I don't think it does any harm to encourage it again. Promoting British culture doesn't have to mean "kick out the immigrants" and join the BNP.

French music certainly came a long way as a result of government action. Judging by its output I'd say the film/television industry is OK too, although often not necessarily my cup of tea.

Either way, it seems to me to be a better idea than trying to make a poor man's copy of American culture which so often happens in the UK.

If this results in more variety I'll be quite pleased.
 
Mad Matt
...Either way, it seems to me to be a better idea than trying to make a poor man's copy of American culture which so often happens in the UK.

If this results in more variety I'll be quite pleased.
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That is partly my point - there is nothing stopping a UK developer from making UK focused action or even using exclusively UK locations, except maybe fear of it not appealing to any audience from the US.

Beneficial tax breaks would remove that problem, but the forcing of using UK specific material as a proviso, I feel is just wrong.

Anyway, this is just me spouting - it's government policy, so it's all a done deal - after all, we serfs don't have a real say in what they decide.
 
As the anarchists say, doesn't matter who you vote for the government always wins.

Well, for the tax breaks, the proof of the pudding.........
 
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Well, I doubt any game developer would be inclined to make a game that could/would be deemed racist. I just think that the government are being idiots as usual in not thinking about how this could be prerceived - by reviving the British content is preferrable thing, what potential message might that send to new generations of young game players?

I appreciate that few seem concerned about this, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, that's all.
 

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