Conservative MP Edward Vaizey introduced an early day motion (EDM) last week to recognise and applaud the success of UK developer BAFTA nominees/winners. LittleBigPlanet developers Media Molecule were one of the developers put forward as an example of the UK’s creative success in the video game industry.
Here is the full text that was submitted as a motion for debate (locate it in its original form here):
That this House notes the importance of the video games sector to the UK economy; congratulates the winners and nominees at this year’s Bafta Video Games Awards; notes in particular the success of UK developed games, including Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet, Codemasters’ Race Driver: GRID and Lionhead Studios’ Fable II, all of which won awards; applauds this recognition of the continued success and significance of video games despite the complete lack of support from Government; regrets the fact that this lack of support from Government has seen the UK fall from being the third largest producer of video games in the world to the fifth largest; and urges the Government to devise a clear and supportive strategy for the UK video games sector as part of the Digital Britain review.
Hopefully such good praise and recognition will continue, and will help drive the UK industry forward in the coming years.
As per usual, a big well done to Media Molecule!!
“I’m not a massive technophile” - Ed Vaizey, MP for Wantage and Didcot
Comment by mobiletone — Mar 30, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
well down to Bethesda for game of the year - Fallout 3
Comment by mobiletone — Mar 30, 2009 @ 4:34 pm
Wow, UK Government in positive pro-gaming comment shocker! I bet Jack ‘Murder Simulator’ Thompson choked on his bagel reading that! He’s probably drafting a strongly worded letter to the PM pleading for their complete outlaw as we speak! (if you missed it he’s already written one to Obama!)
I’ve not read the full thing, but the cynic in me notes he’s a Conservative MP, and we all know how they’re desperate to be all things to all men lately. This could just be an attempt to appeal to younger voters…
Comment by Apnomis — Mar 30, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
I don’t get it about politicians/government.
On one hand, the games industry is perceived (wrongly, in my opinion) as an evil and bad educator or children and teens.
On the other, however, they’re to be praised, especially during a time when the economy is not doing well and the government needs to claw back as much tax from citizens and companies as possible, in order to put it into the mouths of the bankers who got us all into the current economic crisis that we’re in.
Comment by Zed Zee — Mar 30, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
Sony dropped Kotaku a line to let us know that something is going down on Tuesday, March 31st. Could it be the long-rumored price cut is finally upon us?
Or could it be something completely different? Rumors have been doing little twirly things all over the internet over the past few weeks regarding a potential PlayStation 3 price cut, and while our first thought was “Why would they announce it several days after GDC?”, apparently they are indeed announcing something several days after GDC. Go figure.
We’re leaning towards a price cut, but we’ve got a sneaking suspicion that it’s the PlayStation 2 dropping to $99, and not a cut for the PlayStation 3.
All we know so far is that they’re announcing something. There’s only one thing to do now. Let the wild speculation begin! What do you
Comment by Phoenix2912 — Mar 30, 2009 @ 6:21 pm
Top rumours doing the rounds about tomorrows announcement:
a) Price-cut
b) Big Firmware Update
c) New Motion Controller!
d) Something none PS3 related
Comment by Apnomis — Mar 30, 2009 @ 8:43 pm
huzzzzzarrrhhh!
Comment by elephant_stone — Mar 31, 2009 @ 8:24 am
Well the answer to the rumour was option D, nothing to do with the PS3, as I suspected the announcment was merely confirmation that the PS2 will receive a $30 price cut in the US taking it to $99. Whoopee. Even more surprising is the announcement that there are 1,900 PS2 titles due out this year!
Where does this leave the PS3, other than now being a full $300 dearer than the PS2 in the US? And if they can build a full console for $99 and still turn a profit, is it really that difficult to include enough components in the the PS3 to make it backward compatible? Two things will send PS3 sales through the ceiling - either a $100 price reduction, or the inclusion of full PS2 compatibility - until they do one or the other they will remain routed in last place, somewhere Sony management seem perfectly content to be this gen…
Comment by Apnomis — Mar 31, 2009 @ 3:20 pm
More reasons to be cheerful (the similarity between the UK Government & The Blockheads I’ll leave to your own imagination)…
[ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/4981964/Top-10-inventions-that-changed-the-world.html ]
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5. PlayStation
Although games consoles had been around for some time, Sony’s PlayStation took gaming out of spotty teenager’s bedrooms and into adult living rooms when it was released in 1994.
Here was a computer with more power than the average family PC. As of July 2008 more than 102 million PlayStation units have been sold, while the next generations, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, have also been turned into best sellers.
The gaming industry is now worth almost as much as the film industry, taking in more than £15 billion in 2008.
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BFN,
fp
Comment by fanpages — Apr 1, 2009 @ 8:46 am
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