In a recent Press Release from the Department for Culture Media and Sport it has been revealed that the software and computer games sector are the biggest sectors and contribute the most growth among creative industries in the UK. Creative industries contribute £60 billion to the UK economy according to the report and the software and computer games sectors contribute massively to this.

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Software and computer games comprise the biggest sector and contribute most to growth, accounting for over 50per cent of turnover growth between 1995 and 2005.
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The report which can be found here also indicates that NCSoft, the company behind games such as Guild Wars and City of Heroes, has signed an agreement to help provide 5,000 formal apprenticeships by 2013 from the entire creative sector.

In a related report entitled Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy a Centre of Excellence for Computer Games is due to be set up. The report also details that there are over 100 further education courses in the UK dealing with computer games, it goes on to say that University courses dealing with computer games are looking for students with a mix of Maths and Art A Levels. This is an unusual mix and the Government plans to increase awareness of the skills required to University computer games courses.

Further the report says that;

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The Government will also increase awareness of the current R&D tax credit scheme and investigate how to make it more user friendly for small business, with a particular focus on the computer games industry.
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These are two very interesting reports, it will be very intriguing to see if they have any effect on the Byron Report. For now, we must wait and see what the next few weeks and months bring in what is sure to be a crucial time for the games industry in the UK.



I originally posted this on my blog.

I must say that I am really getting into this interviewing thing, after interviewing Frank Klepacki the other week (see my real blog) I have had the pleasure of interviewing some of the key players behind the Half-Life Short Stories project (HLSS site)

Pretty cool interview, we talk about the ideas behind the mods involved, the idea behind the project as a whole and more. Snippet follows.



Chris - “Half-Life: Short Stories - who came up with the idea for this and what was the driving factor behind setting it up?”

Yorick: It was actually Heppa who came up with the idea, and I’ve often kicked myself for never actually having thought of it, because it’s so damn brilliant for a mod. We always wanted to tell stories, Samon and I, but they often ended up being too ambitious for mods. I was pretty close to giving up on modding and sticking with fiction, when he and Heppa got this thing rolling. The opportunity to tell a whole set of small stories was just too perfect to pass up.

Samon: His original idea was to provide small, concentrated Episodes in the Half-life universe and it happened to coincide with something Yorick and I had been discussing at the time. The idea of a series of episodes played from different perspectives and connected by an overall storyline was something we were very interested in getting into. So when he proposed to combine the two projects we jumped on it.



Catch the interview in its entirety right here.

It seems that I was right about Red Alert 3 (also I Dtoid blogged it) as a news post on Shacknews reveals that PC Gamer US has a cover story regarding the game (link)

We can be confident in the PC version appearing then, but what about any 360 version? C&C3 is out on the 360 so it seems plausible that RA3 will be too. EA certainly are keen on Command and Conquer right now with a expansion to C&C3 coming soon, 'Tiberium' announced and now RA3.

I will be doing my best to gleam all the info I can from the EA C&C Community Manager.

(Lots of links I know, originally taken from my blog (link) so just a quick copy and paste after altering the link codes)

In the latest ‘BattleCast PrimeTime’ from EA (linky) the host alludes to something quite dramatic coming this month for C&C fans.

If you buy Kane’s Wrath on the PC, or the Command and Conquer 3 Limited Collection (C&C3 and Kane’s Wrath) you “will have one more reason to cheer.” In two weeks time we will hear more this big announcement from EALA.

What is it gonna be? ‘Tiberium’ has already been revealed, and we have one C&C3 expansion nearly released.

As such, my bet is that we will have an announcement of a new C&C3 expansion pack….or Red Alert 3!

I guess those who get Kane’s Wrath or the Limited Collection will receive some art work from the game that is due to be announced. I assume it is a game as it is something that EALA have been keeping secret for months already…time will tell, but my money is on Red Alert 3.



Originally posted on my blog and similar posted on Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Just a quick note - this is something I am doing primarily on my blog, but I will post bits of it on Dtoid as well to keep you all up to date. As I mention below, if you have any ideas/thoughts on what you want me to cover, just let me know :)

I have recently received an email and had a few comments here that have led to me wanting to write an extended article regarding the current state of PC Gaming. The email and comments covered a few different aspects of PC Gaming (and gaming in general.) The email detailed how the person (who wants to remain anonymous) had quite suddenly fallen out of PC Gaming and shifted to console gaming. I have had comments here on the blog which have also led me to consider writing this piece. I have received a few concerning piracy which plays a key role in the PC Games industry at this moment in time, and I have had other comments regarding recent media coverage on the Mass Effect ‘sex scene’ controversy.

As I write this introduction I do not know how long it will take for me to get everything down that I want to. I know that I will talk about my own gaming experience, where I started, why I became a console gamer, why I moved to the PC, games that had a profound effect on me and probably more. During this series of articles (which I will eventually put together as a full feature somewhere) I intend to talk about piracy, digital distribution, hardware, the media effect on the industry, and maybe some other pieces.

Right now I want everyone who reads this to know that I won’t be putting up a section a week, there may be length gaps between postings on this feature or there may be very short gaps. I may have some articles cross over with one another, tie two topics into one article; I am really not sure at the moment.

This will be a journey, and I hope you who read my blog will join me on this journey and provide me with feedback and ideas on what to talk about. If any of you have something you really want me to discuss just leave me a comment and I will do my best to address it. Onwards then I go.

In a major coup for Steam, the forthcoming STALKER expansion, Clear Sky will be available for digital download worldwide exclusively on Steam.

“It’s great to see a forward-thinking game maker like GCS Game World launching simultaneously in digital and traditional retail channels,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “By launching S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:Clear Sky on Steam on the same day that it’s available in stores worldwide, GCS Game World ensures that gamers can get their hands on this highly-anticipated game in the way that’s most convenient for them.”

For such a game to be made available on Steam as an exclusive digital download is a big step for Valve and shows the faith that game companies have in Steam as a way of publishing their games. This is also significant as GSC haven’t mentioned retail distribution methods since departing from the THQ stronghold. This really shows that Steam is rapidly becoming the go-to place for many developers wanting to get their game to market. I would not be surprised to soon see some big name games only available on Steam.

(originally posted on my blog)