BETA | GAMES UP
Up, Yours Rick Gibson, a member of the Games Up steering committee, runs through the reasoning behind the new campaign’s call for better support from the UK Government and how it can help your games business…
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n October 2007, Phil Harrison hosted a meeting of some of the UK’s largest studios to discuss how to counter the negative perception of the industry in the media and the Houses of Parliament and inaction in Government. A handful of meetings with government ministers had taken place during the 2007 London Games Festival to discuss the competitiveness of the UK studio industry, particularly with regards to the impact of government aid overseas. GIC’s Playing for Keeps reported that in 2006 the UK was pushed from third to fourth place in the global rankings by Canada, and that Canada, having decimated the French development industry, was now targeting the UK. That long term threat to the UK industry has immediate consequences, but the ministers the industry met – Stephen Timms, Margaret Hodge and Digby Jones – claimed the industry fails to speak with one voice, with one even saying that he was unaware that games was a ‘serious’ industry. To solve this issue, some of the UK’s largest studios came together to fund a campaign to educate MPs, policy-makers and mainstream media about how important the industry is, and what it offers UK PLC. Key to solving the single voice problem was the involvement of both trade bodies. ELSPA and Tiga quickly came together to draft the key policies of the campaign, which centre on the key issues of costs and skills. The campaign went on to recruit some of the UK’s biggest studios, including some of the large non-affiliated studios like Frontier and Real Time Worlds. In total, Games Up is backed by studios and trade bodies representing more than 75 per cent of UK games development, publishing and service companies. Games Up is not a new trade body; it’s a short term campaign that runs in parallel with the trade bodies’ day-to-day PR and lobbying activities. The campaign will run until August, and possibly to the end of 2008, but no longer. The sponsoring companies nominated a steering group made up of SCEE, Frontier, GIC, ELSPA and TIGA to manage and report back on the campaign’s activities. The steering group ran a quick pitch process and nominated a pair of mainstream agencies – Precise Public Affairs and 3 Monkeys PR – to deliver the campaign. GIC was also tasked with providing background data and overall campaign administration. The campaign will endeavour to balance the threat of heavy overseas competition with the massive opportunity that a buoyant, growing UK games development industry provides. The organisers are realistic in assuming that it won’t immediately deliver tax breaks or solve the skills shortage overnight. By targeting mainstream media and MPs, the campaign will tackle some barriers that a call for more substantial measures to support the industry will face. The campaign responded quickly to the gathering news story around the US state Georgia’s introduction of a games production tax credit and launched in mainstream media and to policy makers on May 26th, with the first pieces running in the Mail on Sunday and the Financial Times.
Join up! If you would like to contribute to the campaign, either by hosting an MP visit or financially, please contact us: rick@gamesinvestor.com. 40 | JUNE 2008
Snapshot of the Games Up campaign
Main targets: Backbench MPs and policy makers, and the mainstream media. Main objective: Educate policy makers and the media about UK games development so that a more informed debate about substantial support can take place. Policies: Long-term goals are production tax breaks and skills, with a focus on what the industry can give back to the UK, as well as receive from Government. Methodology: National media campaign starting on June 8th and a lobbying campaign consisting of a constituency MP campaign plus a series of parliamentary events before and after the summer recess. Delivery: A pair of experienced non-games agencies (a lobbying company Precise Public Affairs and a PR firm 3 Monkeys) have been contracted to deliver the campaign. Games Investor Consulting has gathered a large amount of background data for media and MP, Treasury and UKTI briefings. Management: The agencies’ work is being managed day-today by a steering group consisting of SCEE, Frontier, GIC, TIGA and ELSPA. The trade bodies and key non-affiliated independents have agreed the campaign’s policies so we can speak with one voice about costs and skills. Campaign contributors: Key sponsors are SCEE, Microsoft Games Studios, Activision/Bizarre Creations, Electronic Arts, Take Two, Codemasters, Eidos, Frontier, NCsoft, Real Time Worlds, Reflections Ubisoft, Blitz, Sports Interactive, Relentless and Exient.