Video game studios leaving could signal creative brain drain
Posted July 13, 2012 7:34 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It has been a bad couple of weeks for BC’s once-booming video game industry and some worry it could get even worse.
Late last month, Radical Entertainment announced 89 layoffs. This week, Rockstar revealed it was taking all 35 of its staffers to Toronto after finding Ontario’s tax incentives too tempting to resist.
One expert worries this may be the beginning of a slippery slope.
“I’m not 100 per cent convinced that the race to the bottom and taking all kinds of cuts and tax breaks and things like that is the absolute best way to do it,” says Victor Lucas, host of Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run.
“The only problem is, that’s the world that we’re in and Quebec and Ontario are more than willing to do that,” he points out.
At the same time, Lucas warns Vancouver can rely on its scenery and climate for only so long when it comes to attracting and retaining top talent.
“I think there really needs to be a really deep understanding of the economic factors and the cultural factors [in] employing these people and inspiring these people to build this material… What kinds of benefits it actually brings to the city, on a whole number of levels,” he argues.
Lucas says government incentives are one thing, but if people really want local studios to stay local, they should vote with their wallets. “Going to the stores, recognizing what’s been made in Vancouver and making these games hits.”
Strangely, this comes at a time when the province says it is expecting 100,000 new jobs will be created in the tech sector over the next couple of years.
Jobs Minister Pat Bell will be in Burnaby today, where he is expected to unveil the government’s Technology Sector Strategy.
