Report: UK Developer Tax Cut Sabotaged by Major Publisher

[Woodsey]

DA DA DA DUH DUH DA DUH DA DA.

Rise... Lord Kotick.

Not sure how much I believe this; either way, it was a stupid move. They've cost an estimated 2000 existing jobs, and any more that could have been generated had the industry blossomed again.

It would have also made them a shit-load of money; gaming is bigger than films and music.

 

[LiquidGrape]

If this is true, said publisher is getting a boycott the size of the titanic shoved up their tailpipes.

I doubt it. Judging by how the industry is allowed to dictate how you enjoy their product and when; something tells me the average gamer doesn't stock much principle.

 

[vallorn]

Is it Ubisoft who have the most invested in Montreal? They also have a lot of people just over the channel in France. Hmm.

EA, Microsoft, Take 2 and Sony all have major studios in the UK so might benefit from a tax cut. Not sure about Activision.

i dont think Activision or Ubisoft have UK studios. its probably one of them but almost everyone on this thread has already pointed at them.

so im going to say it was Valve! their trying to kill their competition so Steam can take over the world!

 

[More Fun To Compute]

so im going to say it was Valve! their trying to kill their competition so Steam can take over the world!

I'm going to guess that it was Paradox since they are probably holding a grudge about some war between England and Sweden that happened hundreds of years ago.

 

[John Funk]

Is it Ubisoft who have the most invested in Montreal? They also have a lot of people just over the channel in France. Hmm.

EA, Microsoft, Take 2 and Sony all have major studios in the UK so might benefit from a tax cut. Not sure about Activision.

i dont think Activision or Ubisoft have UK studios. its probably one of them but almost everyone on this thread has already pointed at them.

so im going to say it was Valve! their trying to kill their competition so Steam can take over the world!

Activision has Bizarre in Liverpool, DemonWare in Dublin, and FreeStyleGames in Leamington.

If Ubisoft has any studios in the UK I'm not aware of them.

 

[vallorn]

DA DA DA DUH DUH DA DUH DA DA.

Rise... Lord Kotick.

Not sure how much I believe this; either way, it was a stupid move. They've cost an estimated 2000 existing jobs, and any more that could have been generated had the industry blossomed again.

It would have also made them a shit-load of money; gaming is bigger than films and music.

but the Daily Mail would probably say that they were giving tax breaks to "rape and murder simulators" so they would look awful. and politics is all about appearances (hence why Tony Blair got into power).

 

[UnravThreads]

I never thought to check since I bought it off steam like 2 months after it first came out.

They did go through with it, but many stores cut the console prices fairly quickly. Steam is, oddly, one of the more expensive places with a standard price of £40. £40. For a PC game. Ridiculous!

If Ubisoft has any studios in the UK I'm not aware of them.

UbiSoft Reflections. Wiki Page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisoft_Reflections].

I think this is a bit of a problem, as gaming easily brings in a lot of money via tax. But it's not just that, it's a case of jobs and encouraging growth in the gaming sector - one which is likely to continue growing. We, in the UK, have had or do have some of the best developers in the world, especially in the 80s/90s. It's such a shame that one publisher has to go and ruin it for everyone else

 

[Cabisco]

I really, really hope this isn't true.

Same, it's a shame such a tax cut went as it could have helped grow the economy but the idea that a publisher actively seeked to destroy it is a tradegy. I hope these are unfounded rumours, or at the least blown totally out of proportion as I don't think i'd be as willing to buy products from a publisher who was willing to do such things.

 

[Gaderael]

I'm betting it was Activision.

Why?

Bobby Kotick is fucking evil.

That pretty much sums up my my thought process. On both counts. Good show sir.

 

[lukeator]

The reason for the tax brakes in the first place was to keep developers from moving and setting up shop in Ireland, but as usual the British government sells out it's own people, like it always dose. Fan-fucking-tastic!

 

[vallorn]

Is it Ubisoft who have the most invested in Montreal? They also have a lot of people just over the channel in France. Hmm.

EA, Microsoft, Take 2 and Sony all have major studios in the UK so might benefit from a tax cut. Not sure about Activision.

i dont think Activision or Ubisoft have UK studios. its probably one of them but almost everyone on this thread has already pointed at them.

so im going to say it was Valve! their trying to kill their competition so Steam can take over the world!

Activision has Bizarre in Liverpool, DemonWare in Dublin, and FreeStyleGames in Leamington.

If Ubisoft has any studios in the UK I'm not aware of them.

huh. didnt notice them. and anyway Dublin is in the Republic of Ireland and so technically isnt in the UK.

so weve narrowed it down to Ubisoft? though personaly i would still give some credence to Activision doing this as they have shown that they dont hold thier studios in very high regard.

 

[Baron Khaine]

I just had a pretty sobering thought though, imagine if Labour had still been in power and Peter Mandelson and Bobby Kotick had been in the same room together.

The resulting vortex of evil would have consumed the universe.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

There should be a vote to choose which one was the assassin...i say it was EA...

 

[vallorn]

I demand names!

But until proven otherwise I shall blame Activision. For they are sin.

Gah, moving back to Scotland at the wrong time it would seem..

if you look above we narrowed it to equal parts Ubi' and Acti'.

hmmm. who wants to place a bet? cookies for the winners!

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Anyone who thinks that game developers/publishers are yet powerful enough to lobby governments like this is in dire need of a reality check.

 

[vallorn]

I just had a pretty sobering thought though, imagine if Labour had still been in power and Peter Mandelson and Bobby Kotick had been in the same room together.

The resulting vortex of evil would have consumed the universe.

i cant even visualise them together in the same building. the amount of possible evil makes my head hurt.