Southerners try to pull video game makers from L.A.

Where movies have gone will video games follow?

Louisiana and Georgia recently passed legislation that offers tax credits for video game companies wanting to relocate in the state, another effort to attract an entertainment industry mostly based in California.

But is anyone in the gaming industry taking this Southern hospitality seriously?

"We had a tremendous amount of interest--even from companies in Los Angeles. But then the hurricane happened," said Pam Meyer, information technology director for the economic development group Greater New Orleans Inc.

Louisiana passed legislation over the summer offering a 20 percent tax credit to video game companies choosing to relocate in the state, and Georgia's General Assembly passed a "multimedia benefits bill" that offers a 9 percent tax credit to both film and game companies. The body is now considering expanding the incentives for video games.

L.A.-based video game recruiter Pat Bigley said she was hired over the summer to find employees for a video game firm planning to open up a studio in New Orleans. She declined to name the company, saying only that the project had stalled due to Hurricane Katrina.

"The average age in this industry is 28," she said. "There are people who are young and have no baggage, and they might be happy to move down there for the duration of a game."

As video game development faces increasing budget constraints, moving across state lines to save 20 percent has a certain appeal. "But moving 50 people across state lines is not the most obvious of maneuvers," said Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developers Association.

So far, the Deep South seems to be a tough sell. "They need to offer California salaries," said Marc Cohen, executive vice president of video game recruiter Networking People-USA Inc. That can be a problem when a developer is earning $100,000 here and he is asked to take a $30,000 pay cut to live in Georgia.

Still, seven years ago Montreal had nothing in the way of video game development. Now it's a hotbed of activity. And Louisiana's tax credits have been successful in luring some moviemakers. Dozens of movies have been filmed in the state in the last few years.