'GAMES SUMMIT AND COUNCIL' NEEDED AFTER AUSTRALIAN ELECTION
SYDNEY - Friday 2 November, 2007 - The Australian Government Minister for the Arts and Sport Senator the Hon George Brandis today met with a delegation from the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) headed by CEO Greg Bondar.
CEO of the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) Greg Bondar said the Minister requested a meeting with the GDAA. The delegation included GDAA CEO Greg Bondar, game developers Mike Fegan CEO of IR Gurus (Melbourne) and Martin Cooper CEO of Team Bondi (Sydney).
This meeting comes on the heel of a meeting GDAA had just a few weeks ago with Senator Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Communications and Information Technology who undertook to establish a high level committee to review the GDAA's call for a 40% tax rebate for the games industry.
"We received a very position reception at the Sydney ministerial offices of Senator Brandis" said GDAA CEO Greg Bondar.
"Senator Brandis was most sympathetic to our concerns and also undertook to ensure that a review of GDAA's call for a 40% tax rebate for the games industry in Australia would be undertaken if the Coalition was returned to government."
"As a result of the heightened awareness by both sides of the political fence of the important role that game developers play in the Australian economy I will be recommending to the members of the GDAA and industry delegates at the Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2007 conference in a few weeks that a National Games Summit be held in partnership with the 'new' Government, whichever party it may be, with a view to placing our concerns squarely before the newly elected government. I will also push for the establishment of a national GDAA Games Council to continue to lobby governments," added Bondar.
"I think our industry has come to the point where it now needs a unified approach to lobbying governments at both the national and international level about the economic, social and cultural benefits of the interactive entertainment (game development) industry. Unless we act now to enforce our legitimate right to be on an equal footing with the film industry game developers will continue to be sidelined by government," concluded Bondar.
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Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2007 Further Details:
15-17 November, 2007 Greg Bondar
Melbourne, Australia CEO GDAA
Melbourne Convention Centre Ph: +6139866 6322
Email: gcap2007@icms.com.au Mobile: 0411 854 115
Web: www.gameconnectap.com
About the Game Developers Association of Australia:
The Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) was established in December 1999. Today, the association comprises corporate members from game development companies and educational institutions, associate corporate members (in service sectors that support the industry), individuals and students.
The main purpose of the GDAA is to increase the profile of the Australian electronic games industry both domestically and internationally in order to:
Promote the growth of the game industry in Australia
Represent the interests of GDAA members
Attract capital and publishers from offshore and increase local investment
Retain and attract the talent that exists in the local industry
Promote a sense of community within the industry
Stats and facts about the games industry:
The Australian games industry is worth an estimated $110 million per year
Australians spend over A$2 million per day on interactive computer games
Total sales in 2006 for the industry was $1 billion
Annual compound growth of the industry is 12.3%
12.5m games were sold in 2006
6.1m video game consoles have been sold since 2000
3.6m Australian households have a video game console
4.8million Australian households have an internet enabled PC which is capable of playing games
The average age of gamers is 28 years
60%of gamers are male and 40% female
35% of gamers are parents and 8% are seniors
Families are an integral part of playing games
8,500 Australians are directly employed in the video game industry in 2007
By 2010, the GDAA estimate that 18,000 people will be directly employed in the video game industry in Australia.
1Gfk Market Research
2PWC
3Gfk Market Research
4Gfk Market Research
5Australian Bureau of Statistics