14 DAY TRIAL // Six members of the European Game Developers Federation, founded just one year ago, have signed a "Video Game Manifesto". With this, they are hoping that the government ministers all over the European Union will understand the cultural impact video games have nowadays and allow tax credits to be given to game companies by each country in the EU.
The six members that signed the manifesto are Tigra (UK), APOM (France), Neogames (Finland), BGIn (Benelux) and GAME (one from Denmark, one from Germany). It has been sent to various EU bodies and it is also intended to prove that games should be worthy of state support and protection.
"We believe that although video game production is a global industry, the values and talents applied to creating video games in Europe are not the same as those found in other parts of the world where these games are created, especially North America and Asia. There is a very distinct style to be seen in games created in our European countries, and it's a style that reflects the diversity and independence of European creativity, especially in terms of its originality", the manifesto reads.
It adds that the European game development sector is under threat from regions that already have government assistance (like the US, Canada and South Korea) and, therefore, the "need to defend European cultural diversity and independence" is a constant growing concern for the devs.
"Our view is that video gaming is no longer simply a form of entertainment, but is a Europe-wide culture in itself; a culture that conveys real values and draws on a huge range of artistic talent, much of which is borrowed from other disciplines. Those who work in this industry fear that unless effective action is taken as quickly as possible, Europe will very soon be left on the sidelines of the digital media world restructuring process now underway."
The manifest ends with the the request that individual countries should be entitled to introduce the national governmental policies required to support independent video game production.