Tax credits to spur new IP drive in France

The decision to grant tax breaks to French developers is a historical moment for the European development community, according to Quantic Dream co-founder and president of APOM Guillaume de Fondaumière.

Speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz Fondaumière said that he's pleased the government has recognised games as a culturally important media, and that he hopes the financial incentives will help spur regional studios to create new intellectual properties.

"It is important to note that the EU commission's decision today not only is a great news for French developers, but for the whole European video game development sector," he commented.

"By giving the green light to France's proposal, the EU commission has recognised for the first time that games are a form of cultural expression, very much like movies. This is an historical moment."

"I do believe it will generate sufficient cash-flow for studios to conceive and prototype new IPs at an important moment in the new cycle, namely the end of 2008 beginning of 2009," he stated.

Although Fondaumière would have preferred to see an equal credit to that of Canada's 37.5 per cent, he believes the 20 per cent offering will still have a significant effect on local studios.

"French development studios that survived the turmoil generated by the distortion of competition created by Montreal have become highly productive as they had to survive the brain drain and a weak dollar.

"A 20 per cent production credit will therefore have an impact on production capacity of these studios to a greater extent than a similar incentive in other regions where studios did not have to struggle that much," he said.

Fondaumière also expects the European Commission's ruling to give a confidence boost to the French development scene, as it proves its worth on a global scale.

"I believe that the EU's decision today will have a noticeable psychological impact on all of us. We have been fighting for the cultural recognition of games at a European level for almost five years now and have felt let down by our governments and Europe.

"This decision today marks a political turning point that gives me high hopes for the future," he said. "We are entrepreneurs and belief in the future is essential to run a business successfully. This is a first step in the right direction, and therefore the most important one."