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Computer games bigger than wool?

I regularly bemoan the way that our "knowledge wave" initiative of the early 2000s failed to deliver on its promises.

The tyrany of distance and our belief that Kiwis are smarter than many of our peers was supposed to turn New Zealand into a powerhouse of intellectual property generation and online service delivery.

Cue Tui's ad.

The reality is that we're still largely reliant on dairy, timber, tourism and wool.

Or are we?

Apparently our heavy reliance on wool exports is under challenge from an unlikely source.

If this RNZ story is to be believed, New Zealand earned more from computer games last year than it did from wool exports.

Now that's interesting.

According to the NZ Game Developers Association, the computer games industry in this country is growing by 20 to 30 percent per annum and is teetering on becoming a "billion dollar industry" within a few short years.

Rejoice one and all! The knowledge wave has delivered!

Okay, put down your drinks and take off your party hats, it seems that there could be a fly in the ointment.

Apparently that growth and the very future of the game development industry in NZ is under threat. Those sneaky Aussies are offering some pretty serious tax incentives that seem to be luring some of NZ's best and brightest across the ditch. It could be that this ankle-taps the potential of an industry that claims it generates greater export receipts than the wool industry.

Can we allow that?

Why do we offer the movie industry all manner of tax incentives, subsidies and such -- but allow Australia to poach our game developers? Does government not know that the games industry is now bigger than the motion picture industry?

Subsidies to movie companies might produce a few jobs locally and a certain amount of overseas spending here but the games industry generates actual, real, tangible export receipts and that, I believe, is more important.

In fact, the potential benefit from computer game creation here in NZ is every bit as large, if not larger, than that which flows from the motion picture industry.

Just as Lord of the Rings gave our tourism industry a huge boost... who's to say that games written in NZ and featuring NZ locations won't do the same?

Computer game creation is the ultimate knowledge-based industry. The products can be developed right here, creating jobs and injecting money into the local economy, while the end-product can be exported without the need for ships, aircraft or the burning of fossil fuels. The money earned from those exports makes the entire nation wealthier.

I have to say that I'm not a fan of taxpayers subsidising commercial enterprises but perhaps there is a case for this thanks to the precedent set by the huge payouts given to overseas movie companies. If we don't move to protect this industry we could be missing out on some significant long-term earnings and that would disadvantage us all.

What do readers think?

Carpe Diem folks!

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