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D'Astous: "Greenshields is jealous, and that's sad"
Ed Fear Mar 26 2008, 3:02pm
Comments (3)
Eidos Montreal head responds to Firebrand CEO's criticism of Quebec's tax breaks
Last week, Develop published an opinion piece by Firebrand CEO Mark Greenshields in which the former DC Studios head recounted his belief that Montreal is an inefficient place to do business in.
To say it whipped up controversy would be an understatement (check out the 30+ comments from former developers employed by Greenshields), but it wasn't just our readers that were stirred by his criticism – Canadian gaming website Game Focus decided to get the other side of the argument and spoke to Eidos Montreal's Stephane D'Astous, who said that Greenshields "totally misunderstands Quebec's methods of attracting developers to Montreal."
He continued: "When people - in Europe particularly - talk about the gaming industry in Quebec and Canada, all they pinpoint is the tax credit, which is only a small part of the whole equation.
"The low cost of company operations, the talent, the growing of multimedia educational institutions and the cultural values between Europe and Quebec are all part of the success equation and we got that from the beginning."
D'Astous went as far as to say that the Quebec government was "visionary" when it created the tax credit programme ten years ago. But referring to Greenshields in particular, D'Astous said: “He’s jealous and that’s sad. I’ve read his comments and it made me smile.”
Game Front also asked EA Montreal's Alain Tascan for his opinion on the comments, who said: "No matter what people say, Québec has a lot of talent and it has a big role to play when it comes down to develop a quality product. I can’t understand why would he go out and say that."
It's an issue that polarises many in the industry: are Quebec's tax credits fair? Should UK and European studios be fighting for similar tax breaks, or are those who say we should instead be fighting against Quebec's tax breaks the right ones? Are tax credits even the issue? Let us know in our comments section, or e-mail your thoughts to ed.fear@intentmedia.co.uk
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Comments
“Montreal vs Europe”
Posted by: Rob - Mar 26, 4:53pm
It's true that Europe needs to help their gaming studios...but in the other hand, Montréal is playing the fair game. Its all about economics...
“What's all the fuss about?”
Posted by: Mike - Mar 26, 5:01pm
What's all the fuss about? Who is Mark Greenshields anyway? Can anybody name a game that was released by DC or Firebrand? You guys really couldn't find anybody to interview on that day, week or even month ;-)
I'm sorry guys but you miss the point. The UK has been giving a 20% tax credit to any British film production budget for years and years (up to £8 million per movie). That's a lot of dough and it is not only on the salaries. In addition, there are also state-run funds that finance this industry in the UK and the EU. Even though the British film industry grew 70% thanks to these incentives, nobody makes a tragedy of it and nobody points the finger at you in Hollywood. The UK has many other tax credit programs across the board.
Yes, Quebec was visionary when they introduced that incentive in 1996. Nobody talked about it in the UK until Develop decided to build up a fake controversy on that topic since the end of 2007. They were visionary because they were the first to acknowledge that this is a serious business with the greatest technological assets, the best salaries and the highest growth potential of all. They were visionary because they were the first to invest in that industry and to put serious effort in growing it.
Now that they have succeeded, after 10 long years of dedication, let's just applause to that. It's a global victory for the whole industry. Now that they have convinced all the other governments, including the UK, to have another look at the game development industry and to recognize it as a real powerhouse of cultural products, let's give them a break! Please!
Besides, it's a tax credit, not a grant. It does not promote or allow bad quality. You still have to know how to make games. You still have to pay qualified people. You still have to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds before you can come up with any successful game and then cash in any tax credit. I think Mr Greenshields is a brilliant demonstration of that. He failed despite the tax credits. He moved to another location for the fourth of fifth time, after a fourth or fifth failure, without having any commercial success in that business over the last 10 years. And, no tax credit could change anything to that. Let's blame it on the tax credit then!
“Re: What's all the fuss about?”
Posted by: Klaude Thomas - Mar 27, 3:14pm
The relocation of investment in games development from the UK to other countries is a loss to the UK.
I predict that D'Astous will struggle to show that improved efficiency in Europe would not have been more valuable to the parent company than the creation of a new studio in Montreal. Speaking as a shareholder in Eidos, albeit a small one, I am disappointed with the company's decision-making in that regard.
One cannot expect people in a country to supply objective comment on the risks and benefits of relocating work there.