As Destructoid's resident backwater, inbred, slack-jawed hillbilly, I've developed something of a thick skin when it comes to snarky remarks about slavery, obesity, illiteracy, conservative politics, and an overabundance of Bibles.
Well, the pinko-liberal sector can shove it where the sun don't shine, since Georgia governor Sonny Perdue recently signed the 2008 Entertainment Industry Investment Act, effectively giving game developers in Georgia a 20% tax break. These tax incentives apply to movies, TV shows, commercials, music videos and, thankfully, video games. They also replace similar legislation that dates back to 2005, and Georgia joins France as one of the few places with leaders that understand video games as a medium and an industry. Hopefully, some other political mafiosos will pull their heads out of their respective arses -- it's easier to get your feet into your mouth that way.
What's more, while Georgia's new legislation is great for gamers, it's great for the state economy as well. Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development stated, "We expect to see an increase in the number of industry jobs and overall economic impact for the state in the coming years." Tax breaks in the entertainment sector contributed $475 million to Georgia's economy in 2006.
Bill Thompson, deputy commissioner of the Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office, mentioned that "Georgia is one of the few states whose entertainment incentives support the video game industry." Georgia may never be able to erase Captain Oglethorpe's pre-colonial misadventures with a bunch of British debtors, but, while some of those "free thinking" and "progressive" states are keeping Tipper Gore's close-minded legacy alive, Georgians will be able to enjoy their games without all that societal decay.
[Via The Duluth Weekly, via GamePolitics]
Contest:
9:54 PM on 05.13.2008
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I want GTA: Philly. It's official. Haha.
Seriously though, this is awesome. I'm in college for computer science and this will make more job opportunities open up for me after I graduate.
Deliverance... a true, terrifying movie.
Let's hope some more densely populated states do something in this vein.
Maybe we'll finally get Rhett Butler's Not Giving A Damn About Atlanta instead?
@B-Radicate
It would make for a GREAT San Andreas style GTA. Travel between Philly, Trenton, Pittsburgh, and Atlantic City, with tons of hicks, mountains, forests, and nuclear waste dumps in between!
I can just imagine it now. The finale would take place on Three Mile Island in a homage to STALKER.
oh nooos you must go to SCAD!!!!!
aHHH Sometimes I miss GA
... are you gambit?
On the plus side I dont get taxed on anything in the galaxy!
Woot!
Alfie Haggis
Sorry about the above post, I used the wrong size image!
How can I ammend that?!
How do I delete it?
I used the wrong size of picture (you dont say!?)
Pls help before I get permabanned!!
Alfie
Hey CBREX, what part of GA you from? My family's all in/around Atlanta. In fact, I'm one of just 4 family members not born in Atlanta.
@Humble -- I'm not Cajun, but my dad's French, so uhh ... kinda. I've always had a soft spot for Gambit, though, just because I'm the only one of my friends that could understand him.
There's actually a good amount of gamedev going on in GA especially around Atlanta. We work on the games for Cartoon Network and adultswim and there's a lot of casual game companies as well as White Wolf out here. SCAD seems to have a great program here for game design so that can only help us grow more along with all these entertainment bills. Sonny was actually here at Turner yesterday signing some of these bills.
And as far as being populated, Atlanta is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in America.
Haha wtf man. Just leave it.
Ps: Good for georgia.
GEORGIA BOY, BORN AND RAISED!!!! WHOOOOOO!!!
Offhand, I know a girl that goes to SCAD, but she kind of sucks. I hope she doesn't start making games any time soon. -___-
The job I work at now is a small tech startup out of my home office. I think that if game studios are anything like our publication company, as we integrate more and more communications and collaborations over the web, you will see more Game Dev. Studios producing smaller content with employees all over the world.