It was speculated that KMM Brisbane was to absorb the now defunct Team Bondi. Talent is ”flocking” to Canada thanks to tax breaks - Stark against subsidies.
”The writing has been on the wall for a long time,” said KMM Brisbane art director Jason Stark. ”But it’s maybe a little surprising the extent to which it has happened. We’ve all expected the industry to be shrinking - it’s been bad times. It’s gone from being a mild contraction to being pretty much obliterated.”
Stark points to tax incentives abroad and the high Australian dollar that has changed the landscape since the 1990’s where it was much cheaper to produce a game than at a US studio. Canada in particular is reaping the world’s talent for the industry.
”They’re hiring like crazy and that’s where a lot of local talent is flocking to … where streets are paved with video game gold,” he remarked.
”I’m personally not a believer in subsidising industries - I believe the free market should take care of it. But having said that, we’re losing a lot of talent, and your nation quickly gets to the point where if times do come good again, we’re not going to have enough experienced people here to start the companies.”
Gamers aren’t so tolerant of ‘meh’ titles anymore. ”People are either buying AAA games or they’re buying $2 games on their iPhone. They’re not really interested in a $60 ‘meh’ game,” Stark adds. ”There is a really boom or bust environment at the moment.”
Has the Australian videogames scene virtually collapsed? Pandemic closed in 2009, and Krome followed in 2010. THQ shut its Brisbane and Melbourne sites this year.
