{"id":42669,"date":"2023-10-20T15:22:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/labor-minister-calls-for-40-tax-rebate-for-games-industry-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:22:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:22:54","slug":"labor-minister-calls-for-40-tax-rebate-for-games-industry-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/labor-minister-calls-for-40-tax-rebate-for-games-industry-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor minister calls for 40% tax rebate for games industry – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"

A local games studio has welcomed a push by Federal Arts Minister Simon Crean to extend a 40% tax rebate to the games sector, saying any government support would be welcomed. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Crean will make the case for an extension of the 40% producer tax rebate, which saved the local film industry, as part of the expenditure review committee process before the next budget.<\/p>\n

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Paul Gray, co-founder of games studio Bubble Gum Interactive, which is based in Sydney, believes the rebate \u201cwould be a great help\u201d within the local gaming sector.<\/p>\n

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\u201cProducers perform an essential role for games development companies. It\u2019s such a core role, and a highly qualified role \u2013 it\u2019s not super expensive but it\u2019s super specialised,\u201d Gray says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny support from the government would definitely help, especially for start-ups and small business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The rebate \u2013 as it applies to the film industry \u2013 is responsible for securing a spate of successful movies for Australia, ranging from Happy Feet Two<\/i> to The Great Gatsby<\/i>.<\/p>\n

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The plan to apply the rebate to the games industry follows extensive lobbying by Happy Feet<\/i> director George Miller.<\/p>\n

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Miller hopes to bolster production at his Sydney-based Dr D studio by branching into games, including the next project from the maker of popular Australian game LA Noire<\/i>.<\/p>\n

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A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals the global games industry, worth more than $60 billion, will be worth a whopping $90.1 billion in 2015.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And while movie-tracking service Box Office Mojo identifies The Dark Knight<\/i> as the world\u2019s highest grossing film over five days \u2013 at $US204 million \u2013 it was eclipsed by video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3<\/i>, which made $US775 million in the same period.<\/p>\n

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According to Crean, it\u2019s an industry that \u201chas to be encouraged\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cUntil I went to George Miller\u2019s studios\u2026 I hadn\u2019t understood the extension of the film industry to the game industry,\u201d Crean told The Australian Financial Review<\/i>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a strong case for it \u2013 it\u2019s a logical extension to what we\u2019ve already proved our worth at and the international market already values.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Miller argues the rebate is necessary to help Australia compete with countries such as Canada, which offers a 40% rebate; competition that has decimated the Australian game industry.<\/p>\n

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According to Gray, part of the problem is that the local gaming sector is often \u201cmisunderstood\u201d, claiming it has not always been taken seriously.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe traditional view is of teenage boys in their bedrooms, but it\u2019s much more mainstream than a lot of traditional media advisors and government advisors might believe,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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Gray believes the industry will see a rise in the number of independent developers, particularly as larger, generic studios continue to close.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re seeing more students doing their own independent outfits. We see lots of people doing [game development part-time] to varying levels of success.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery time I talk to students at colleges, the colleges make them work on games but the more proactive ones formalise that to some extent, on iTunes or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy main advice is you have to be customer-centric in what you\u2019re developing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou have to create a story around something and be passionate about it, but you also have to make sure it\u2019s not just for you but for a target audience \u2013 you have the find the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In other gaming news, US-based app developer Big Fish Games has removed its app from the App Store just one day after it became the first app developer to offer games by subscription.<\/p>\n

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The app let subscribers play iPad games for a monthly fee. It was not only the first subscription game service offered in the App Store, but also believed to be the first cloud-based one.<\/p>\n

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To date, App Store games have only been available for individual, one-time purchase and download.<\/p>\n

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A spokesperson for Big Fish Games said in an email the company \u201cworked collaboratively with Apple over several weeks to ensure the service met all their guidelines\u201d.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not clear why Apple has pulled the game, nor if it intends to introduce game subscriptions to the App Store in the near future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Apple commentator John Gruber suggested <\/b>the app might have been accidentally approved by an App Store reviewer in violation of App Store guidelines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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