Falling price of sterling makes UK better value, says Tiga
Trade body points to greater buying value of the US Dollar, Yen and Euro in the region
Tiga has said that the falling value of the British Pound has made the UK games industry increasingly affordable to overseas partners.
The developer trade body says that, due to sterling’s sharp decline over the past 12 months, dollar, yen and eurozone customers are getting between 21 per cent and 56 per cent more for their money year-on-year.
"For the last decade British companies have had to rely on the UK industry’s well-deserved reputation for quality. Now we can compete hard on price as well as quality," said Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga.
Tiga further pointed out that in January 2008 JPY 10 million bought Japanese customers GBP 47,619 of British goods and services, at a conversion rate of JPY 210 to GBP 1, but now it buys GBP 74,361, at a rate of JPY 134 to GBP 1, this represents a 56 per cent increase in purchasing power.
Last year USD 100,000 bought GBP 50,632, against £66,955 now, which is a 32 per cent increase in buying power, and EUR 100,000 last January would have bought GBP 74,349 but now buys GBP 89,800 now - almost 21 per cent greater value.
"I don't think there's any doubt that the UK has more than its share of the best games and middleware talent in the world," said Servan Keondjian of Qube Software.
"But since the turn of the millennium the strong pound has made some international buyers think twice about the UK. Now we’re starting to see a radical shift. International clients are back because they see not just great quality but also good value."
Philip Oliver, CEO of Blitz Games Studios, said: "Every cloud has a silver lining. The current financial turmoil has resulted in the exchange rate tipping hugely in favour of using UK developers. We're still producing the high quality games we've earned the reputation for, but now we're doing so on very competitive pricing.”
Team 17's CEO, Martyn Brown, added: "I'd like to think that quality UK developers are always highly considered when international publishers contract out their projects."
"With the pound being what it is, it makes us incredibly good value for money and helps us to be more competitive."
Chris Doran, COO of Geomerics, concluded: "The bulk of our business is overseas, and the lower pound is making it much easier for us to win contracts."