Games Cheats and Reviews

TIGA, the trade group that represented the UK games industry today voiced its complaints that the Government is investing disproportionately into the film industry, with the games industry suffering as a result.

Telegraph.co.uk presents the 10 games they’re most looking forward to in the coming year.

Today, TIGA will make another attempt to convince Alistair Darling, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, to give the British games industry a boost through tax breaks.

In their final pre-budget report before the general election they will try to show that the games industry will continue to slip unless tax breaks are introduced as soon as possible.

Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said: “A Games Tax Relief for the UK video games industry is absolutely essential if we are to safeguard and grow one of the UK’s most promising and creative sectors. Our Government must back this crucial industry in the Pre-Budget Report on December 9th.”

He added, “TIGA and other independent experts have provided convincing evidence for the introduction of the Games Tax Relief. If the Government is to realise the potential of the UK video games industry then it must take the opportunity of the Pre-Budget Report to announce a commitment to establish Games Tax Relief. This is the last serious chance to demonstrate a commitment to the sector in the life of this Parliament.”

“The UK games industry is still successful and world leading. However, because most of our key competitors benefit from a tax break for games production, our industry is at a competitive disadvantage. Unless the UK Government introduces TIGA’s proposed Games Tax Relief, our research suggests that employment in the development sector will fall by 5% in each of the next five years, from 9,025 in 2009 to 7,351 in 2014. There would also be a fall of £1.9 million in development expenditure over the same period.”

“In contrast, with Games Tax Relief enacted, the industry would stop shrinking in 2010, grow by 2% in 2011 and by 4% in each of the next three years. 3,550 graduate level jobs and £457 million of investments in the development sector would be created or protected with the advent of the tax break. Games Tax Relief would more than pay for itself. Over five years the tax measure would cost £192 million but would deliver £415 million in tax receipts.”

“The UK Government has a clear choice: invest in an inherently successful industry to perpetuate our leading position in the world, or preside over the decline of a key knowledge industry.”

This underlines comments made by Ed Vaizey, Shadow Minister for Culture when he opened this years inaugural London Games Conference.

Yahoo! Games: Playback 92 Part 1

The Xbox ‘red ring of death’ error may have affected as many as half of the console’s users.

Cnet: Sixty per cent of Xbox 360s have kicked the red-ringed bucket, compared to 16 per cent of PS3s and just 6 per cent of Wiis, according to our survey on the reliability of games consoles in the UK.

CNET UK commissioned the survey last month — and the results don’t reflect well on the Microsoft console. Some 1,128 UK-based console owners responded, of whom 562 owned Xbox 360s, 473 owned PS3s and 591 had Wiis (some owned more than one).

Of those Xbox owners who have bought their Xbox since January 2008, 34 per cent report that their Xboxes have broken — still double the lifetime failure rate of the PS3. Microsoft introduced new components in late 2007 and early 2008, when Bill Gates boasted of the Xbox’s newfound "incredible reliability". Our survey shows that while the console has improved, it’s still far from reaching Gates’ goal of being the "most reliable video game box out there".

The prosperity of the entire UK? trade has been placed in danger by the supermarket price cutting that has led to FIFA 10 and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising going on sale for under £30.