Shockingly Poor Start to London Games Summit
Nobody turned up to play with Lord Sainsbury.
Lord Sainsbury of Turville
MCV reports today on a shockingly poor turn-out to Lord Sainsbury’s keynote speech at the London Games Summit this morning, leaving organisers TIGA and ELSPA with some embarrassing egg on their faces.
Despite barely 50 people turning up for the keynote, good old Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, ploughed on regardless with his speech on the future of the UK’s games industry, claiming that the government is aiming to create the “best possible conditions in this country for your industry to innovate and grow.”
Discussing the relative financial clout of Britain’s games and movie industries, he added: “The computer games industry is economically much more important [than film]…it is the innovation and creativity that has allowed this sector to grow.”
Lord Sainsbury went on to discuss the importance of technological and creative developments within the games industry, creating ‘new wealth’ through science and innovation.
More prosaically, the minister hoped that the glamorous image of working in the games industry should hopefully encourage more young people to study ‘proper’ stuff at school and university (you know, like maths and physics and sciences, and not media studies and sociology and that!) being “motivated by what they see as the exciting jobs of the future.”
The event continues tomorrow, when hopefully more than 20 people will turn up to hear Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism Shaun Woodward have his ten bobs-worth.
Elsewhere in London Games Week events, just down the road at the Cafe Royal, there was a much better turn-out for the first London Games Careers Fair. SPOnG can’t help but wonder if any of the London Games Summit organisers were considering popping down to check out the Games Conference Organising job vacancies scene!
Despite barely 50 people turning up for the keynote, good old Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, ploughed on regardless with his speech on the future of the UK’s games industry, claiming that the government is aiming to create the “best possible conditions in this country for your industry to innovate and grow.”
Discussing the relative financial clout of Britain’s games and movie industries, he added: “The computer games industry is economically much more important [than film]…it is the innovation and creativity that has allowed this sector to grow.”
Lord Sainsbury went on to discuss the importance of technological and creative developments within the games industry, creating ‘new wealth’ through science and innovation.
More prosaically, the minister hoped that the glamorous image of working in the games industry should hopefully encourage more young people to study ‘proper’ stuff at school and university (you know, like maths and physics and sciences, and not media studies and sociology and that!) being “motivated by what they see as the exciting jobs of the future.”
The event continues tomorrow, when hopefully more than 20 people will turn up to hear Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism Shaun Woodward have his ten bobs-worth.
Elsewhere in London Games Week events, just down the road at the Cafe Royal, there was a much better turn-out for the first London Games Careers Fair. SPOnG can’t help but wonder if any of the London Games Summit organisers were considering popping down to check out the Games Conference Organising job vacancies scene!
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Comments
Dreadknux 4 Oct 2006 16:29
1/2
It's a 'saddening' fact, but true - nobody wants to hear Parliamentary figures waffle on about the industry. Aside from the Government making inroads to encourage people to get into the industry and help it grow, I don't see how - or why - people would make the connection between them and the games industry (aside from their job description).
Now if you got a few developer figureheads to support them, then you'd have something. I guess it will get more interesting the next day, if only during EA's conference session. But David Gosen, lawl.
Now if you got a few developer figureheads to support them, then you'd have something. I guess it will get more interesting the next day, if only during EA's conference session. But David Gosen, lawl.
hollywooda 5 Oct 2006 11:20
2/2
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........HUH!...ohh sorry i feel asleep reading that...