Streamline's Hector Fernandez

I honestly hope not. I think that the day is going to belong to the people that can be as nimble and flexible as possible, in order to get through this interim period right now. I definitely hope that no European developer has to go through this situation.

I read a lot on GamesIndustry.biz about the discussion in the UK over tax credits - it's very popular, with people looking at options both in France and Europe.

But I honestly don't think this is as much about giving a handout, as much as it is a hand-up - and not that I think that a tax credit is a handout, but there needs to be a way for government to be able to recognise the significance and importance that this creative industry is playing, that goes beyond just lip service.

It needs to be looked at as more than just the cultural staple it is, but as a vibrant industry that is producing the most significant entertainment experiences of this century. People don't want to just play games; they want to be able to participate in the creation of them.

One way that Government can assist is by developing mechanisms outside of tax credits that increase the flexibility of production and actually respect the business model that the industry finds itself in - it's less ICT software-development and more production-oriented, and that's something that has to be recognised not only here in The Netherlands, but across Europe.

There are ways to stay competitive without thinking that handing out money is the way to do it. It could be in employment laws, in social benefits, in the ability to provide more incentives and discounts on hardware and software - just something that can reduce the overall cost of burn here. At our height, our payroll per month was more than most payrolls per year in Asia. We need to be vigilant on reducing the cost of development for European developers.

We started this company out of our apartment - eight years ago we were four guys, I came along and was number five. We were very much a start-up company out of bedroom development, and we were able to grow a company simply because the effects of the Euro - as well as the quality we were able to deliver - meant that we were still on par with what was coming out of the US... and Asia hadn't really taken off fully.

But as Asia came on board, the Euro rose and a large number of productions continued to still be paid out in Dollars. It's a simple economic reality, when a publisher has a choice between looking at Europe and Asia as to where they go for their content solutions - especially in an economic crisis they go where the money will go the furthest, regardless of the quality level.

So it's a weird trade-off that the industry finds itself in.

It's definitely a challenging situation, and one that our Production Management service has been learning how to utilise. We have talented core teams here - we've got talented management and knowledge workers. We've got the brains and the designers that can sit here and wield the strength of all of these vendors that are across the world.

But, by no means do I want to undermine what the Asian companies can do, because there are some very talented people over there - but it's about understanding that globalisation is really happening: It's about the developers who understand that there are both strategic and tactical ways of being able to combine all these different resources out there, and managing them to produce product.

I think here in Europe, seeing what I've seen in the past eight years, Europeans tend to have a way of congregating together to work in teams that's an advantage compared to the US. If there's a place in the world that's going to be able to leverage that it will be here in Europe - especially with the way the economy is right now, there's really no choice.