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8:59 am, January 29, 2009
UK losing place in computer games industry, Eidos founder says

By Michael Fahy

The Manchester-born founder of computer games giant Eidos has called for incentives such as salary tax breaks and an overhaul of university teaching in order to prevent the UK from slipping further down the ranks.

The UK recently lost its place as the second-biggest producer of games to Canada and is coming under pressure from China and Korea.

Ian Livingstone, who spoke at a Future Pro.Manchester event in the city Tuesday night, and is also an advisor to government on the creative industries, told said that Britain is in danger of losing its reputation in the sector despite playing a key part in its early growth.

“The industry doesn’t get any support event though it contributes £40bn a year to GDP,” he said. “It’s bigger than the film and TV industry put together, which get lots of support, but it operates in a background of regulatory pressure and an unsupportive press,” he said.

The biggest problem facing the industry is a lack of suitable skills, he told Crain’s.

“Universities are not producing enough of the type of people we need. The industry needs mathematicians, physicists and artists. There are something like 81 courses in the UK dedicated to computer games, but universities get paid for putting bums on seats and they’re turning out students who know all about the history of games, but they can’t make them.”

He also said that Canada’s games industry had grown from an embryonic base 15 years ago to overtaking the UK by offering salary rebates of up to 37.5 per cent for those working in the industry

“They have achieved in 10 years what took us 25,” he said.

Comments? mfahy@crain.com

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