by Governor Rick Perry
Published: 07-16-08
Some people might wonder why I’m headed to Los Angeles for E3 a gathering of the movers and shakers in the video game industry. The answer is simple: I want those leaders to hear about everything Texas has to offer their companies. At the same time I think that Texans need to know more about an industry that is not only changing the way we play but blazing a path for competition in our increasingly global economy.
Although high resolution graphics new story lines and technology advancements will grab most of the headlines coming out of that conference I would encourage a closer look at the real story in that industry: the emergence of a bona fide economic engine. As our nation’s business leaders and government officials consider approaches to stabilize and grow our national economy they may want to consider the methods and outcomes of an industry that is no longer just an entertaining diversion for a niche market.
Seemingly overnight the video game industry has become a major player in our national economy with over $18.8 billion in U.S. sales last year. The industry in Texas has kept pace with the national trend. According to a study by the Entertainment Software Association the computer and video game industry added $395 million to our state’s economy and grew by 17 percent from 2006 to 2007 – nearly quadruple the state’s overall growth over the same time period.
Considering that our state’s economy grew at a rate more than double the national average it is clear that the computer and video game industry is on fire in Texas. Its presence in our state has grown to the point that the Lone Star State now ranks third nationally in computer and video game employment just behind California and Washington. Austin alone boasts more than 60 gaming companies employing over 2800 individuals and contributing almost $195 million annually to the local economy according to a study by Texas Perspectives Inc.
The entertainment software industry’s production process and record breaking sales have created a rising tide that has benefited a variety of other companies in Texas and elsewhere across the nation. For example one of the industry’s global leaders Sony Online Entertainment not only calls Texas home but also relies on IBM’s Cell Chip another Texas technology as the heart of its PlayStation game console.
The Lone Star State is also home to two Fortune 500 companies GameStop and Blockbuster whose business computer and video game sales are integral to the industry’s success and our state’s economy. To help further encourage the computer and video game industry and its economic promise Texas has instituted measures that offer qualifying video game developers a variety of financial incentives similar to those offered to the film industry. These incentives are the icing on a cake whose ingredients are a track record of new technology creation premier academic institutions and an increasingly capable high-tech workforce.
As an added bonus the entertainment software industry’s success has not been solely economic. In barely more than a generation video games have transformed from a diversion for the few into a mass medium. The notion that gaming is confined to adolescent males is long outdated. Recent research has shown that the average video game player is 35 years old and that 40 percent of gamers are women. In fact there are now more gamers than nongamers in the U.S. population.
Today games help people of all ages to live learn work and of course play. Devices for the young now keep senior citizens engaged; other games are being used to rehabilitate combat-wounded veterans; and still others are being used to train corporate executives and first responders. To serve this growing demand more than 400 universities and technical schools worldwide twenty-six of which are in Texas have programs in the academic study of video games.
There are those who might look at our national economy and see only gloom and doom. Instead we should look to sectors like the video game industry that have embraced the notion of global competition and follow their example to greater prosperity. I encourage other states to follow Texas’ lead and expand the economic potential of a new industry – the computer and video game industry.
The Honorable Rick Perry is the Governor of Texas currently serving in his second term. The Governor will deliver the keynote address at this month’s 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit the premier entertainment software industry event.
