Menino hosts event to draw video game companies to area
State offers aid to set up shop
The Boston area produces lots of world-class computer specialists , but hardly any world-class computer game companies. Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston says that's not good enough, and yesterday he hosted a Northeastern University conference aimed at attracting more of the $7 billion video game software industry to the Bay State.
"We want to help these young people and entrepreneurs understand that we're a digital-friendly city," Menino said. "My administration is dedicated to helping creative industries flourish."
Guests at the all-day conference said that while there's plenty of gaming talent in the Boston area, it is difficult to scrape up the money needed to establish new game-development companies.
"It's very difficult to do venture capital stuff in the entertainment sector," said Jay Laird, founder of Boston game maker Metaversal Studios and a lecturer in game design at Northeastern. There's plenty of local venture capital, said Laird, but companies prefer to invest in biotech nology or commercial computer projects. Because it is so difficult to predict which games will succeed with consumers, investors regard the sector with suspicion.
But Bob Coughlin, undersecretary of business development at the Massachusetts Office of Housing and Economic Development, said state and local officials see huge potential in building up the state's "creative economy" -- the sector that produces art, music, movies, and video games. Coughlin said his office can help game companies find inexpensive locations to set up shop and can provide help in incorporating and obtaining financing.
"We want to be the customer service department for government," Coughlin said. "Educate me, work with me, tell me how government can be a true partner to help you succeed."
According to Menino, about 950 digital technology firms in Greater Boston employ 24,000 people and generate about $1.5 billion in annual revenue . But only a handful of those companies produce computer games. The Boston area hosts a number of respected companies, including Turbine Inc., maker of The Lord of the Rings Online; Harmonix Music Systems Inc., which developed the popular Guitar Hero music games; and Blue Fang Games LLC, which creates the Zoo Tycoon series of games for
But none of these companies can rival industry giants like
Jeffrey Steefel, executive producer of The Lord of the Rings Online and a speaker at the conference, said the Boston area could become a global center for game development if it can build a critical mass of successful firms. "You start becoming a place with a lot of talent, and companies start being attracted to that place," Steefel said. "It starts becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy." 