[MUD-Dev] Movies bigger than games? (was Re: Digital Property Law)

[Richard A. Bartle]

Tess Lowe wrote:

>   Speaking of which, and just to prove my point, last year people
>   actually spent more on video games than on movies. You heard me,
>   MORE. Yet there are hundreds of news stories and entertainment
>   shows glorifying the cinema every day. Why is it a major news
>   story if Hannibal makes $100 million? The Final Fantasy games for
>   the Playstation made over $100 million each, without eating
>   anyone, and nobody put that on the news anywhere.

Because more people saw Hannibal than played Final Fantasy?

[I apologise in advance to non-Brits about what follows, as it's not
going to make a lot of sense to you!]

At a conference at the department of trade and industry last week, the
minister for e-commerce delivered a keynote speech to the assembled
software developers where it was mooted that because of the
similarities between the computer games development industry and the
film industry, we ought to get the same tax breaks that the film
industry gets. Yay! At the end she asked for questions, and after 3 or
4 there was "time for one more".

I was the only person to put up my hand.

"This may seem facetious", I began, "but it does have a serious
underlying point. If the games development industry is more important
to Britain than the film and other creative industries, how long do we
have to wait until someone in this room gets an OBE?".


There was much laughter, but the minister at least appreciated why I'd
asked, and invited me to email her afterwards. I just got her reply
this morning. I don't suppose it'll make a lot of difference, but you
never know. Maybe something for Jez San or Peter Molyneaux would show
the government's heart to be in the right place.

I also asked why Tim Berners-Lee hadn't been knighted, to which she
didn't know the answer. If he gets a gong come June, you heard it here
first!

		Richard

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