Australian government continues to ignore video game industry

The Game Developers Association of Australia has reported that the Australian government once again neglected to provide tax incentives for the fast-growing video games industry. According to an official response to the 2007 federal budget on the GDAA website:

For every $10,000 the government spends on the Film industry they only spend $3 on the video games industry and this is not only a fiscal equity and imbalance issue but also a serious neglect of one of the fastest growing industries in the creative and entertainment sector.

The report is full of all kinds of other fun and interesting facts, most of which are money numbers. Did you know, for instance, that the video games industry is worth $110 million in Australia and that the average age and salary of workers in the sector is 26 and $57,000 respectively? I sure didn’t.

It sounds like they’re doing alright for themselves in the land down under, but GDAA has a point. If you’re going to be an international player in this industry you’ve got to have support from the government. Stodgy bureaucracies who keep trying to ignore video games in the hope they will simply go away are going to get left in the dust.

Read [GDAA] Also Read [MMORPG Blog]