Lagging behind California and Texas, NY-based game developers hope to catch up.
New York is in the top five states in game industry employment, but still lags behind powerhouses like California, Texas, and Washington. Senator Martin J. Golden and NYU Polytechnic have organized panel discussions and roundtables for the New York government representatives can hear from 25 different people in the industry. The two panel presentations will take place Friday, Sept. 20.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, owner of Rockstar Games with a headquarters in New York City, is one industry leader included in the discussions. MTV Digital executive producer Tom Akel, Games for Change copresident Asi Burak, and Kickstarter community head Cindy Au will also be attending. New York-based developers such as Avalanche Studios and Vicarious Visions will represent the local game development scene.
“The gaming software industry is large and growing, and New York State can claim an increasing share for our citizens,” Golden said in a statement. “At present, New York State lags behind California, Texas, and Washington in the number of companies, employees, and contribution to the economy. We have about one-tenth the number of game software employees as California and one-tenth of California’s gaming software’s contribution of $2.16 billion to the state economy.”
The roundtable, titled “Growing Computer and Video Game Development in New York,” will discuss how the state can grow its digital games industry to either match or exceed the film industry.
Golden added, “When companies and gaming entrepreneurs think of gaming software, we want them to think of New York State.”
Source: GameSpot
