Comments on: Video game developer tax credits doing more harm than good?

By: Perla Bothwell

Perla Bothwell — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:28:29 +0000

Seriously! Image researching yahoo and google for hours because of this and i lastly found it right here!

By: george

george — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:09:41 +0000

does a video game artist working in a montreal company benefit from the tax credit (given to video game companies by the goverment)? or is just the compagnie?
for exemple, if an animator is making 40k a year,is the implied tax on his revenu equal to 42% (wich is the normal percentage for a 40k salary)or it will be less than that?

By: Gerry

Gerry — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:49:58 +0000

There is nothing but positives to be said about the multimedia tax credit system for promoting high tech growth and employment.
The problems start when these are used to subsidize, in Greenshields case,his offshore errors such as Fear Factor and State of Emergency in Scotland. His personal business errors. High taxes is a non starter unless you are being taxed for income you have not declared-the comment came from Greenshields.
He is out of Canada and has made room for better business leaders.

By: Vincent D

Vincent D — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:28:27 +0000

Michel, when you ask “where are the other small independent developers?” you seem to assume that there are not in Montreal, so let me tell you, I am in Montreal, I am a video game developer and I can tell you that there are small independent developers in Montreal. Regarding your guess about the lack of local talent, I can guess you dont have the skills to measure it.
The growth of a firm depends not only on the developer talent but also on other forces required to maintain the firm alive …

By: TMcG

TMcG — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:37:08 +0000

I find it very interesting to look at the comments section relating to the article in develop magazine.

Something tells me there is more to this story than blaming it on tax credits…

By: Heri

Heri — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:25:01 +0000

Michel,

I am not an expert as you are about the business of video games in Montreal, I would say though that the fiscal system in Québec benefit big companies.

Also I think there is a culture in Quebec towards the cult of big companies.

I hope we will see small, independent video game makers at the upcoming gamecamp at the SAT. Those kind of events should be encouraged more.

By: michel

michel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:29:52 +0000

But tax credits are directly responsible for bringing in huge companies like Eidos who in turn suck up talent and make it harder for smaller studios to get started.

Ok, maybe Greenshields is a terrible CEO and DC Studios failed because of mismanagement, not poor office location, but then where are the other small independent developers? Compare Montreal to Vancouver or Austin and you’ll notice we’re heavily slanted towards giant multinational publishers. There’s the odd studio that does edutainment or cellphone games or fills some other niche, but outside of Ubisoft, EA, Eidos, A2M there is basically nobody. If Greenshields is full of it then why aren’t there any smaller studios here? I just look at Vancouver and see smallish studios like Relic and Rockstar beside a giant like Nintendo and wonder why this doesn’t exist in Montreal. I guess it does all come down to a lack of local talent. Another way to look at it might be that the tax breaks are useless for small companies until there’s a big enough talent pool for all these new jobs. I’m not sure if or when that will ever happen though. Ubisoft Campus doesn’t seem to be doing a good enough job on its own, if Lost is any indication (I’m generous in suggesting that was made by Ubisoft Campus graduates. It seemed more like a final year project made without the oversight of actual experienced Ubisoft employees).

By: Montreal Tech Watch

Montreal Tech Watch — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:54:55 +0000

Video game developer tax credits doing more harm than good? http://tinyurl.com/22kzqb

By: Heri

Heri — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:46:14 +0000

Hey michel,

I believe Greenshields’s article was more about not being able to find proper talent in Montréal. I don’t think he was criticizing directly tax credits.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:42:24 +0000

The comments in a related article on Develop reveal quite a bit on where Mark Greenshields is coming from in his criticism of Montreal’s gaming industry: http://www.developmag.com/news/29488/Montreal-is-not-an-efficient-place-to-run-a-business

Candor? Yes, but improper management can also severely harm your business’ efficiency!