Call for tax breaks to help computer games industry; Sony executive warns on overseas threat.Byline: ALISTAIR HOUGHTON Hough·ton , Henry Oscar 1823-1895. American publisher who founded (1852) the printing office that became the Houghton Mifflin Company. Noun 1. THE European European emanating from or pertaining to Europe. European bat lyssavirus see lyssavirus. European beech tree fagussylvaticus. European blastomycosis see cryptococcosis. head of video gaming video gaming n. 1. Gambling by means of interactive games of chance played on a video screen. 2. The playing of video games. giant Sony SONY Standard Oil of New York (common, but untrue; it's an urban legend) Computer Entertainment Worldwide has urged the Government to offer tax breaks to games developers to protect the national industry from foreign competitors. The computer games industry is one of the region''s economic success stories, with hundreds employed at firms such as Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide (SCEW) in Liverpool Liverpool, city (1991 pop. 448,300), NW England, on the Mersey River near its mouth. It is one of Britain's largest cities. A large center for food processing (especially flour and sugar), Liverpool has a variety of industries, including the manufacture of electrical and Cheshire. But many in the industry say the sector needs tax breaks to help it compete with countries such as Canada. They say that, unless the UK matches those countries, then companies and talented individuals could head overseas. Liverpool''s BT Convention Centre yesterday hosted national video gaming conference Develop - the first time the event has been held in the North. SCEW is one of the UK''s biggest games developers, employing 600 people across its studios and development centres in Liverpool and Runcorn. Michael Denny, Liverpool-based senior vice-president of SCEW in Europe, told LDP LDP - Linux Documentation Project Business: I think there is more the government can do, particularly in terms of tax relief, tax breaks or support in other areas such as local grants. I hope the government looks at our industry favourably, and that we get the support we deserve. Canada has shown itself to be a shining example of how government support can support a creative industry such as ours." Richard Wilson There have been many people named Richard Wilson, including:
He told delegates at the event: We are lobbying to get tax breaks for games producers. We believe it will generate in the UK, over five years, 3,500 jobs, pounds 450m in tax revenue and something like pounds 450m in additional investment. Develop, which ran alongside Liverpool Software City conference at the BT Convention Centre yesterday, included seminars on subjects ranging from LEGO Rock Band to new ways of distributing games online. It also included a debate on how best to promote the region''s gaming sector. Enda Carey of business support agency Northwest Vision and Media said the education system and games companies themselves needed to encourage more young people to take up maths and physics to give them the skills they need to enter the industry. CAPTION(S): The video gaming conference at the BT Convention Centre yesterday, from left: Enda Carey, of Northwest Vision and Media; Carri Cunliffe, of Game Horizon; and Richard Wilson, of TIGA |
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