More games and the UK Press

I complained about her US-focused article last week at some length, so I think it’s only fair that I praise Aleks Krotoski’s Don’t let the politicians play games with us this week. I don’t presume that her writing was affected at all by my piece but she has done a nice job of addressing my issue with her last article implying US policies were reflective of the games industry as a whole. This week she talks more about the US political situation with video games and does a lovely job of relating it to the UK.

“Why does this matter to us? UK-based developers and publishers have long been under the thumbs of US capitalist palaces of consumption. America is where the big bucks are, and for a game to be considered a success it needs to chart there.”

I suppose she’s right. It’s a sad fact that English-language games writing is truly dominated by US-centric views. There are a lot more of them than us, hey? Numbers game and all that.

I’m not convinced by the money all being in the US though. Asia has a roaring games industry and Europe isn’t too shabby either. It’s obviously true that localisation costs will eat into profits but the US isn’t the be all and end all of the industry. Perhaps the increasingly conserative US federal policy will be just the thing that tips the balance in favour of developing for the European and Asian markets.

3 Comments