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Digital Britain for the Video Games Industry: new Ratings System unveiled

Valerie | 17 Jun 2009, 11:17

Photo: Getty

Whilst focusing on the implications for the less-interactive media, the Digital Britain report also offered some positive news for the UK games industry.

Unveiled by new Creative Industries Minister Siôn Simon yesterday as part of the Digital Britain report, the Government announced its overhaul of the video games classification rules which will see the adoption of the PEGI (Pan European Game Information) system, a self-regulatory system currently used in most European countries in which publishers themselves recommend an age rating for games. This will replace the BBFC games ratings as the sole method of classifying video games in the UK and will make selling a video game rated 12 or over to an underage person illegal for the first time.

The decision was welcomed by video games trade body ELSPA and games publishers including Nintendo, Ubisoft UK and Sega Europe as “absolutely the right decision for child safety”.

The Digital Britain report also acknowledged the upward trajectory predicted for the UK video games industry and featured a pledge by the Government to work with the video games industry to collect and review the “evidence” for tax breaks that would help support and sustain the creation of “culturally British” video games in the UK.

An article in the Independent earlier this week indicated that many MPs were ‘receptive’ to tax breaks for video games developers, with John Whittingdale, chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport urging fellow MPs from all parties to act fast in offering greater incentives to British developers.

Launching the Play Together initiative with Tiga earlier this week, which will focus on “fostering innovation, collaboration and communication between UK video game companies and with other creative industries such as music and film, Jon Kingsbury, creative programme director at NESTA said:

“We believe the UK video game industry is one of the shining lights of digital Britain. We want to foster this creativity and help the industry become even more successful in the future. What is clear is that innovation in all aspects of the business process is essential if Britain’s creative industries are going to remain competitive in the global market.”

Enabling collaboration between the Creative Industries is a key priority for c&binet and the forum in October will be dedicated to bringing together creative business leaders to share best practice and address shared challenges collectively.

Digital Britain Report: Building Britain’s Digital Future

Valerie | 16 Jun 2009, 18:03

The UK Government has today published its action plan for ensuring that the UK is at the leading edge of the global digital economy.  The Digital Britain Whitepaper sets out the importance of the Digital Economy to the nation’s economic future, and how it will drive future industrial capability and competitiveness.

Although many of the headlines focused on universal broadband access, the creative industries made up a considerable proportion of the Digital Britain report, published earlier today. There were four key issues addressed in chapter 4 – Creative Industries in the Digital World - namely:

Recognition of the economic importance of the UK’s creative industries

–  “We need… a commitment to the creative industries grounded in the belief that they can be scaled and industrialised in the same way as other successful hi-technology,  knowledge industries such as bio-sciences have been”

The importance of protecting and rewarding creativity in the digital world, meeting the mutual interests of creators, aggregators, distributors and consumers

–  The Government’s objective is to see the creation of an effective online download and streaming market of scale, providing content that is highly affordable, easily and conveniently accessible to consumers

–  Digital Britain proposes an equitable framework to bring content-creators, rights-holders, aggregators, distributors and consumers together to create workable and effective online download markets of scale

Extending public policy framework to embrace interactive content

–  Government consultation to give Ofcom a duty to police unlawful file sharing through notification of unlawful activity and for repeat infringers, a court based process of identify release and civil action

–  Bolstering action against illegal file sharers through technical measures, specified in legislation, and could include Blocking (Site, IP, URL); Protocol blocking,  Port blocking and Bandwidth capping

–  If voluntary action does not reduce illegal file sharing after 12 months, Ofcom should use its backstop powers to introduce these additional measures

Ensuring that existing interventions are digital ready

–  Government acknowledgement that the scope for modernisation of the current UK copyright framework is “heavily constrained within the EU copyright framework”, with “further work that remains to be done”

The full Digital Britain report is available online and further details can be found on the latest news and publication page of the DCMS website.

You can also follow additional commentary on the Digital Britain Forum, Twitter feed and here on the c&binet blog where, over the coming days, we will be looking in more detail at what the measures outlined in the report mean for the Creative Industries.

UK Gaming Industry receives boost with new Parliamentary Group

Valerie | 12 Jun 2009, 12:32

The UK Government has announced it will form the first ever cross-party group dedicated to raising the profile of the burgeoning video games industry.

The news comes as the new Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw confirmed the Government’s recognition of the importance of the video games industry to the economy at a House of Commons debate earlier this week.

The remit for the All Party Parliamentary Group will be to “provide a forum to discuss business issues affecting video games software developers, to develop policies to enhance the sector and to champion an industry that responsibly creates content for an audience ranging from children to adults.”

To be chaired by Labour MP Bill Olner and MP John Whittingdale with Tiga, the national trade association for games developers in the UK as secretariat, its membership stretches beyond 20 MPs, Lords and industry representatives, including Lord Puttnam of Queensgate and MP Philip Davies.

Tiga CEO, Richard Wilson welcomed the announcement:

“The establishment of the All-Party Group on the Computer and Video Games industry will ensure that issues affecting the sector, including the tax system, skill needs and industry academia links are raised still more effectively in Parliament and Government.”

As c&binet recently reported, the video games industry currently contributes more that than £1 billion to Britain’s gross domestic product.  The future success of the video games industry will be a key theme for the forthcoming c&binet forum, which will consider the creative and regulatory structure that will help the sector to thrive beyond the recession.

Creative Industries take centre stage in UK recession recovery and future prosperity

Valerie | 15 May 2009, 13:30

Feargal Sharkey (right) and Andy Burnham at the Knotty Ash Youth Centre, Liverpool
(Image reproduced by kind permission from the  Liverpool Daily Post)

In recognition of the economic and social power of the UK’s burgeoning creative industries – a subject which c&binet regularly explores on this blog – the Government announced plans this week to create between five and ten thousand new jobs for young people in the culture and creative industries sectors, highlighting the significant role they play in achieving economic recovery and future prosperity.

‘Lifting People Lifting Places’ outlines the Government‘s priorities for the Department for Media, Culture & Sport (DCMS), its partners across the cultural and sports world and in local government for the new economy to demonstrate the positive contribution that creative sectors can make in difficult times to people’s lives and the places in which they live.

Outlining the Government’s vision for how culture, media and sport can play a part in helping the economy recover, Andy Burnham said:

“Rather than sitting on the fringes, culture, sport and the creative industries are part of the core script for recovery and future prosperity…

“As a decade of record investment has helped our cultural and sporting institutions to be the best they can be – better placed not just to help solve the problems of the downturn, but to make a more significant contribution to the new economy that emerges, providing more jobs and generating more income.”

Under the plans laid out by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, local councils, third sector groups, arts organisations and creative industry bodies will be able to bid for Government funding for new, innovative jobs as part of the £1.1bn Future Jobs Fund announced in the Budget last month.

UK Music has already has been working with the Government to explore how the creative industries can help get young people into work and they plan to develop a pathfinder project, working with Jobcentre Plus to offer up to 200 jobs to young unemployed people around this summer’s music festivals.

Alongside this and following the recent announcement from communities secretary Hazel Blears and Andy Burnham of a £3m fund to breathe new life into local communities through the use of vacant shops by musicians and other creative industries, the music industry and Government also this week launched UK Music’s new rehearsal rooms at the Knotty Ash Youth Centre in Liverpool. Aspiring musicians and bands will benefit from the first professionally equipped, Government funded music rehearsal space, with five other spaces due to opened in the coming months, in Bristol, Washington, Hastings, St Austell and rural Norfolk.

These initiatives mark the first time the Government and the cultural sectors have come together in a joint effort to ensure that this generation of young people looking for work opportunities are supported via a full programme of support which includes jobs, mentoring and skills development.

By investing now – in cultural, creative and sports-related jobs and training for young people, in regeneration projects for our communities, and in new cultural and sporting opportunities for everyone – the Government is nurturing creative talent and resources for the new economy that will emerge in a highly connected, fully digital world.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of Vivendi announced as first key note speaker at c&binet Forum

Valerie | 12 May 2009, 14:02

C&binet has announced the first key note speaker for the inaugural 2009 forum, taking place in Hertfordshire between October 26th- 28th 2009. Jean-Bernard Lévy , CEO of Vivendi, will address hundreds of international creative business leaders gathered for the event. 

Vivendi is a world leader in communications and entertainment. It is the number one publisher of video games and music in the world and a major player in television, film and telecommunications.  Its business reflects the growing interdependence of creative content production and distribution which will enable Jean-Bernard Levy to offer a unique perspective on the issues c&binet is tackling.

Speaking about the forum, Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of Vivendi, said: “Creative content drives our industry.  That’s why C&binet is such a timely and significant initiative. The creative sector, driven by technological advances in TV, film and music through to video games and telecommunications, is rapidly evolving. We need to address the issues that arise from these transformations collectively. I’m really looking forward to everyone sharing ideas about how we can achieve this.”

Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for the UK Department for the Department of Culture Media & Sport (DCMS), commented: “This is a critical time for the creative industries. In recent months it has become increasingly clear that the single most important issue affecting all content creators and distributors is how to make sure that creativity is rewarded. The global economic situation has escalated the urgency and we must support the sector to find a solution. By bringing together international leaders from the creative economy with domestic and international policy makers, we hope to make real progress in the key issues which jeopardise the sector’s future.

“As well as addressing issues around content and IP protection, the c&binet forum is also an opportunity to develop new links which enable capital and investment to flow towards creative talent. Jean-Bernard Lévy’s experience of running one of the world’s biggest communications and entertainment companies will offer invaluable insight to this debate.”

UK Media bosses call for piracy legislation

Valerie | 11 May 2009, 10:11

The Sunday Times reports that leading figures from Britain’s biggest media firms including c&binet ambassadors Lucian Grainge of Universal Music and Channel Four’s Andy Duncan have formed a “copyright sqaud” to advise Lord Carter on how to tackle online piracy ahead of publication of the Digital Britain Report on June 16th.

The six-man working group, which also includes Michael Lynton of Sony Pictures, Jeremy Darroch of Sky and Neil Berkett of Virgin Media are calling for draft legislation that will force internet service providers (ISPs) to collect data on repeat offenders which can be used to prosecute them, citing that uncertainty over legislation has delayed signing rights deals. However, ISPs have been reluctant to support legislation, arguing that that it raises privacy issues.

The news follows the recent Pirate Bay ruling which found the Swedish site guilty of helping to make copyright-protected content available to others, setting what many believe will be a precedent that will have far reaching implications in the content industry.

As the BBC notes:

“Content creators who are struggling to get consumers to pay for movies or music in a digital world are on the warpath. They’re telling ISPs and consumer technology firms that they must help plug the hole in the creative industries’ finances caused by file-sharing or copying. And they seem increasingly confident that governments will listen to their message.”

The message is clear that content creators believe ISPs have an important role to play in addressing internet piracy and must welcome the news that companies such as Virgin Media are championing this cause.