What Does $20 Million Of Federal Funding Mean For The Australian Games Industry? - Polidicks

[img]http://edge.alluremedia.com.au/m/k/2012/11/screen_aus.png[/img] [quote]Today the Federal Government announced it would be investing $20 million into the Australian games industry, but what does that mean for creatives in this country, and how will it impact industry in the long term? We spoke to the CEO of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia Tony Reed about the effect of this new funding. Funding on this level doesn’t happen by accident. “It was a long educational campaign,” admits Tony, who was instrumental in helping convince Federal Government to invest in the Australian games industry. “Certainly in Canberra there were certain perceptions and this had a lot to do with mass media reporting.” “Whenever games hit the news it’s bad news. So it was a long educational process about what games are, what their audience is and how they play — and certainly the commercial side of things, the economic benefit. It was really important to communicate that.” According to Tony, it was important to inform decision makers in Canberra that game development was an industry, not a hobby, that video games could genuinely contribute to the Australian economy. Big releases such as Fruit Ninja and L.A. Noire helped Tony make a compelling case. “Being able to take these success stories to Canberra and say, ‘here you go’ was a really important part of this process. Look at the number of people that have downloaded Fruit Ninja. They became amazing tools to help educate the political sector.” Now that the government has been convinced of gaming’s potential, the burden now falls on industry itself. Not only does the Australian games industry have to deliver on what Federal Arts Minister Simon Crean referred to as a ‘downpayment’, it has to actually help shape the fund itself. Both Canberra and Screen Australia — who will be administering the fund — have called on the industry itself for help. They want this fund to help spur long term development and are happy to admit that the games industry itself might have a better idea of how to distribute the resources. “Industry is going to have a lot of input into what this fund will be and how we can grow from it,” explains Tony. “We’re putting out an industry consultation paper so everybody gets to feed their thoughts into this process.[/quote] [url=http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/11/what-does-20-million-of-federal-funding-mean-for-the-australian-games-industry/]Full story & Source[/url]

Are they still going to be $100?

Most probably, the government could probably just play favorites and only fund exclusive companies

[QUOTE=mr apple;38470369]Most probably, the government could probably just play favorites and only fund exclusive companies[/QUOTE] EA Australia DUBSTEP LENSFLARE ZOMBIES 73: Now with more lensflare and piss poor AI allies that seemingly can't die ever!

God the prices here are outrageous i saw a local game store selling black ops 2 for 120$ at release.

[QUOTE=GIGA LOBSTER;38470702]God the prices here are outrageous i saw a local game store selling black ops 2 for 120$ at release.[/QUOTE] My local EB is still selling MW3 for $110. Seriously, the retarded pricing is the only reason I haven't bought any COD games since WaW.

[QUOTE=Syrix;38470721]My local EB is still selling MW3 for $110. Seriously, the retarded pricing is the only reason I haven't bought any COD games since WaW.[/QUOTE]EB is honestly the worst place to buy games in Australia though. I saw PC/PS3/360 Black Ops 2 for $79 at JB Hi-Fi which is quite frankly a far better place to shop.

[QUOTE=SgtWoodsy;38470743]EB is honestly the worst place to buy games in Australia though. I saw PC/PS3/360 Black Ops 2 for $79 at JB Hi-Fi which is quite frankly a far better place to shop.[/QUOTE] It really depends. Sometimes EB has the game cheaper, other times it's the same price as JB. Neither are very ideal and it just depends on the game where you'll find it cheaper.

[QUOTE=SgtWoodsy;38470743]EB is honestly the worst place to buy games in Australia though. I saw PC/PS3/360 Black Ops 2 for $79 at JB Hi-Fi which is quite frankly a far better place to shop.[/QUOTE] JB Hi-Fi is the only electronic retailer near me that actually sells games for less shitty prices. ..and honestly, I just buy most of my games off Amazon if I want a hard copy.

You can't shoot at things, and games are fucking expensive. What the hell do you Aussies do for entertainment?

[QUOTE=Nikota;38470861]You can't shoot at things, and games are fucking expensive. What the hell do you Aussies do for entertainment?[/QUOTE] Hunt kangaroos and run away from drop bears. Really, the price of living is pretty high here overall. Food is expensive and retailers ramp up prices not only on games but clothing, products and stuff overall. I think we've got slightly higher wages though, but it doesn't really level out.

[QUOTE=SgtWoodsy;38470743]EB is honestly the worst place to buy games in Australia though. I saw PC/PS3/360 Black Ops 2 for $79 at JB Hi-Fi which is quite frankly a far better place to shop.[/QUOTE] Dick Smith is selling PC black ops 2 for $79, just in time too I got a dick smith $100 gift card from my grandparents

[QUOTE=Nikota;38470861]You can't shoot at things, and games are fucking expensive. What the hell do you Aussies do for entertainment?[/QUOTE] Because the only entertainment you can get in life is from shooting guns and playing games, derp What do I do for entertainment? Play games (because they aren't as expensive as people make them out to be), go to the movies, go get smashed with mates every other weekend, road trips and much more.

[QUOTE=Dubious George;38471606]Hunt kangaroos and run away from drop bears. Really, the price of living is pretty high here overall. Food is expensive and retailers ramp up prices not only on games but clothing, products and stuff overall. I think we've got slightly higher wages though, but it doesn't really level out.[/QUOTE] Our wages are a bit more than slightly higher. Aussie minimum wage is twice American minimum wage, and most jobs pay more than that as well.

[QUOTE=TacticalBacon;38471644]Our wages are a bit more than slightly higher. Aussie minimum wage is twice American minimum wage, and most jobs pay more than that as well.[/QUOTE] This, absolutely this. US federal minimum wage is $7.25US per hour and ours is $15.96AU per hour, and it is indeed effectively double the amount of the US minimum wage as the value of the USD and AUD are roughly on par. Then when you consider we pay only $90 for new releases while those in the US pay $60 for new releases, we actually get a better deal than them.

[QUOTE=Nikota;38470861]You can't shoot at things, and games are fucking expensive. What the hell do you Aussies do for entertainment?[/QUOTE] The only shooting people do here is with alcohol

[QUOTE=TacticalBacon;38471644]Our wages are a bit more than slightly higher. Aussie minimum wage is twice American minimum wage, and most jobs pay more than that as well.[/QUOTE] melbourne housing is ridiculous though. A house in our street sold for $800,000, and it was a shitbox without heating or aircon.

I hope we don't see another 38 Studios disaster because of this.

[QUOTE=GIGA LOBSTER;38470702]God the prices here are outrageous i saw a local game store selling black ops 2 for 120$ at release.[/QUOTE] why the fuck does it cost so much . ?

[QUOTE=Dubious George;38471675]melbourne housing is ridiculous though. A house in our street sold for $800,000, and it was a shitbox without heating or aircon.[/QUOTE] I have a friend who moved to Australia from the US. He told me shitboxes like that can sell up to and sometimes over a million dollars.... He also finds it weird that men need to drive manual to be manly since most Americans pretty much only use auto these days.

[QUOTE=Dubious George;38471606]Hunt kangaroos and run away from drop bears. Really, the price of living is pretty high here overall. Food is expensive and retailers ramp up prices not only on games but clothing, products and stuff overall. I think we've got slightly higher wages though, but it doesn't really level out.[/QUOTE] How do people over there survive with that kind of expenses?

[QUOTE=BCell;38472117]How do people over there survive with that kind of expenses?[/QUOTE] As bacon said, higher wages, but as far as I can tell people manage. When I was in canada i was astounded by how low your average day food is. Our milk is $4~ for 2 litres for example. It would make sense if our dollar was still at the 60c to the american but with parody it's kinda stupid. David Jones and a few other retailers tried to put a tax on online purchases because people were ordering furniture/goods for half the price of retail for the exact same product.

[QUOTE=Zet;38472005]I have a friend who moved to Australia from the US. He told me shitboxes like that can sell up to and sometimes over a million dollars.... He also finds it weird that men need to drive manual to be manly since most Americans pretty much only use auto these days.[/QUOTE] I'm learning how to drive manual, it's hard shit but I kinda prefer it from auto's

[QUOTE=Dubious George;38472422]As bacon said, higher wages, but as far as I can tell people manage. When I was in canada i was astounded by how low your average day food is. Our milk is $4~ for 2 litres for example. It would make sense if our dollar was still at the 60c to the american but with parody it's kinda stupid. David Jones and a few other retailers tried to put a tax on online purchases because people were ordering furniture/goods for half the price of retail for the exact same product.[/QUOTE] when you said tried to make a tax and it sounds like it never got through . ?

[QUOTE=theevilldeadII;38472436]when you said tried to make a tax and it sounds like it never got through . ?[/QUOTE] There is actually a tax on online purchases, but it's a 10% GST applicable on purchases only above $1000. Any orders that are less than that don't get taxed which is why retailers are pushing for a tax on all online purchases.

It's sad to know that out of the two good games Australia has made, one of them is fruit ninja. Hopefully this helps a lot, because we're definitely trailing behind when it comes to any form of media. 98% of our movies and tv shows suck. Maybe we can have a decent video game industry.

[QUOTE=darcy010;38474314]It's sad to know that out of the two good games Australia has made, one of them is fruit ninja. Hopefully this helps a lot, because we're definitely trailing behind when it comes to any form of media. 98% of our movies and tv shows suck. Maybe we can have a decent video game industry.[/QUOTE] Robin Walker is Australian, and TF2's a pretty good game

[QUOTE=Nikota;38470861]You can't shoot at things, and games are fucking expensive. What the hell do you Aussies do for entertainment?[/QUOTE] That's only in Victoria, but even then it's still easy to get a gun license. Well about the games, you do kinda have a point, but anyone who buys games all year ought to scan eBay on a regular basis ($60 games just like America) and buy on Steam if they have an internet connection that can support the downloads.