Gamezone

by Lenzo (in association with xtravision)

You are reading an Archived Article

IT'S GAME ON!

Irish digital talent blasts international rivals to bits

GURU: Dylan CollinsIT was Game Over for the international opposition when Ireland scored 200 hotly contested new jobs in the computer gaming industry last week.

But the decision by video game giant Bioware to set up its first Irish base in Galway could be just the beginning of a digital revolution which could create thousands of jobs and turn this country into the gaming Silicon Valley of Europe.

Only a generation ago, Ireland's income was produced by tractors.

Now we stand to make more money from the virtual tractors which fans of Facebook (European headquarters, Dublin) buy in their millions to use on its phenomenally popular FarmVille game.

Last week Bioware (it's responsible for games like the sci-fi roleplayer Mass Effect and the fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins) joined a lineup of more than 21 gaming companies who are already based here.

They include major players like Activision Blizzard, Gala Networks, GOA, Big Fish and Jolt.

Significant

MASSIVE HIT: Mass Effect 2 from BiowareAlthough it's often mistakenly regarded as a fringe industry, computer gaming employs a total of 1,400 people here - equal to that of, say, Statoil or O2.

"In the last seven years there has been a significant shift in the size and focus of the games industry [in Ireland]," says industry expert Aphra Kerr of NUI Maynooth.

"Employment has grown by about 400 per cent, with an important expansion in online customer support."

The sector is projected to grow rapidly as computer gaming consolidates its position as the number-one entertainment industry.

Anyone who still sneers at gaming as the preserve of spotty teenage boys hasn't been keeping up with the frenetic pace of the industry's growth.

Generating some $50 billion a year, computer gaming now outstrips movies.

The shooter game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 banked over $400 million dollars on its first day, putting movies like the Harry Potter into the ha'penny place.

Irish tech wizards have already built up a huge reputation. Movies like The Matrix and games like Assassin's Creed owed their wow-factor to Havok, a company formed by Trinity College graduates and snapped up by Intel for $100m.

The poster-boy for the local industry is Dylan Collins (29), who sold his DemonWare software operation to Activision for $15 million and was voted Net Visionary of the Year.

Hubs

"Ireland is one of the biggest online gaming hubs in the world. Most people just don't know it," he says.

Collins believes the Irish Government should attract more investment here with a zero tax rate for virtual goods.

He recommends: "The IDA should make a concerted effort to locate online gaming in Ireland and provide a tax-incentivised location to that end."

Back to Top of Page