Media Release: BRACKS GOVERNMENT PROMOTES VIC AS GAMES INNOVATION CAPITAL

FROM THE MINISTER FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

DATE: Wednesday, April 13, 2005

BRACKS GOVERNMENT PROMOTES VIC AS GAMES INNOVATION CAPITAL

The Victorian Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Marsha Thomson today opened the Australian Games Innovation Centre – the only one of its kind in Australia.

Ms Thomson said the Centre, which was funded by the Bracks Government, would build Victoria’s reputation as Australia’s computer game capital in an industry worth $100 million in Australian exports per year.

“The Centre brings together diverse elements of the electronic game industry in one site, making it easier for game developers, publishers, producers, distributors and training institutions to work together,” Ms Thomson said.

The Australian Games Innovation Centre is home to the national headquarters of the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) – which will manage Australia’s first Games Innovation Showcase in the new centre – and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) – which provides skills and training programs critical to industry development. The Australian Games Innovation Centre is co-located with Australia’s oldest established developer, Atari Melbourne House.

“Bringing the industry together at the new Centre has many obvious advantages. By co-locating the peak industry body with expert training facilities and established business practitioners, both local start-ups and established firms will be able to find the whole industry at their doorstep,” Ms Thomson said.

“Business large and small which choose to set up in and around the Australian Games Innovation Centre will have access to the expertise of the associations themselves, and to the skills and resources of their members.

“Students will gain industry exposure from the proximity to the industry headquarters, while industry can ensure that fresh talent is emerging with the right skills to meet their needs.

“Almost all of the Academy’s 2004 graduates found work within the games industry either here or overseas. Many of these were employed by prominent local developers IR Gurus for their popular AFL and other games.”

The centrepiece of this new games hub is the Games Innovation Showcase, a focal point for displaying the electronic game industry to a full range of stakeholders, from International investors, government VIPs, global educators and game developers themselves. The centre is also home to a Government-funded PlayStation 2 Performance Analyser, a vital testing tool for local industry.

During the Centre’s opening, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, GameBoy Advance and Game Cube games were running while a Sony plasma screen showed the Australian Game Story, a showreel of Australian-produced games.

The Centre has already hosted a number of important industry events, including a three-day professional development course for 40 teachers and trainers of computer game courses run by the GDAA. It has also hosted a Business and Project Management Program for CEOs, Government-industry roundtables as part of the Australian Game Developer’s Conference as well as international trade visitors from Taiwan, Japan, UK and USA.