Cast your minds back a few months, and you'll remember a little spat the Australian games and film industries were getting themselves into. Well, today, its ROUND TWO: FIGHT. The Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) have issued a public statement calling on the Australian government to start ponying up. Click on through for the full thing, but suffice to say they're not happy with the lack of financial support the local industry receives.

The Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) calls on the Federal Government to commit to extending to the video game industry the 40% rebate which was recently granted to the film industry " said Tom Crago, President and Greg Bondar CEO of the of the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA).

The video games industry in Australia is experiencing a serious fiscal inequity and imbalance compared to the film and special effects industry sector of the entertainment industry. The government is guilty of a serious neglect of one of the fastest growing industry in the creative and entertainment sector.

The video game industry in Australia is in a unique position to attract much of the current AUD$30 billion international industry and all that is required are sensible tax concessions for international investors - exactly what the exceedingly well looked after film industry receives.

By 2011, the worldwide gaming market will be worth $48.9 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% during the five-year period with the Asia Pacific region remaining the region with the highest overall spending on gaming during the period and reach $18.8 billion
in 2011, according to a PwC forecast.

It is now critical that the Federal Government starts to recognise the economic contribution of the video game industry in Australia through its domestic sales of over $400m, export growth of over $100m, employment of over 2,000 young Australians (average age of game developers is 28).

"The Federal Government could do much to learn from the Canadian government which has created over 10,000 jobs in video game development over the last four (4) years though the right financial incentives" added Tom Crago and Greg Bondar.

We estimate that at present there are 8,500 people directly employed in the video game industry in Australia. (This is broken down as follows: Development: 2000. Publishing and Distribution: 1500. Retail & Sales: 5000.) With the production rebate extended to the game development industry we envisage that, skills shortages not withstanding, the number of people employed in game development in Australia could triple to 6000 within three years. We would also expect to see growth in the other areas of the industry.

It is not unrealistic to think that by the end of 2010 we could have 18,000 people directly employed in the video game industry in this country.

The GDAA now calls on the Federal Government to immediately review its commitment to the Interactive Entertainment (video game) industry by also extending the 40% film rebate to the video game industry.

Passionate stuff. The move already has the backing of the Victorian government, with Tim Holding, Victorian minister for Information and Communication Technology, saying

This is a very important change that we want to see the Federal Government make.

Just as the Film Finance Corporation has been established to support the film industry, so too should there be a game finance corporation.

Which is all good stuff. You could make the argument that the Australian film industry is a piece of shit and needs more money too, but proportionately, the GDAA have a pretty solid case. If the film industry gets government cash to keep it afloat, it's only fair games get some too. Especially since I've played more Australian-developed games in the last few years than I've seen Australian movies. And that I wouldn't be alone in that regard.