VIDEO games developers have rounded on the government, claiming ministers are not doing enough to support one of the few industries generating growth, profits and employment.
According to a new survey from trade association Tiga, just 3 per cent of games software developers felt government policy towards the industry was "very favourable". The majority (53 per cent) labelled the government's approach as either "unfavour
able" of "very unfavourable".
Respondents were also critical of the Bank of England, with 28 per cent saying its handling of monetary policy had been either unfavourable or very unfavourable.
Tiga, which represents about 150 businesses across the UK, the majority of them small and medium-sized enterprises employing less than 250 staff, said many of its members were having trouble accessing finance.
Some 52 per cent of those polled said it had become more difficult to borrow money from their bank in comparison to six months ago.
On a positive note, three- quarters of games developers expect to grow their headcounts "a little or a lot" over the next six months. Jeff Meek, a partner at accountancy firm French Duncan and chairman of Tiga in Scotland, said the industry had an important part to play in hauling the economy out of recession.
"There is only so much money going around," he conceded. "But you need to be selective and help industries that are clearly able to add value. The games industry creates intellectual property, royalties and revenues."
Pressure has been mounting ahead of this week's Budget to improve the system of tax credits available to companies undertaking research and development (R&D) work. Meek said firms would also benefit from additional support for staff training.
"We are finding that some games studios in Scotland and the UK are not getting work as it's being placed where there is more (government] assistance available," he added.
Tiga chief executive Richard Wilson said the video games industry as a whole employed about 28,000 people, with some 10,000 of those working on the actual development of the games.
"These people are highly qualified and this is where the IP (intellectual property] is created," he added.
"Even though we were going through an economic downturn last year, the industry grew global sales by about 11 per cent. Obviously, we want the UK to be at the forefront of this success.
"We are in a situation where the government is willing to bail out the banks and the car industry, but the tax breaks we are asking for are small change in comparison."
The games industry employs about 1,000 people in Scotland and generates more than £20 million in annual revenues.
The full article contains 450 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
