April 27, 2009
By David Ranii
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1502528.html
When it comes to video games, the Triangle already has some bragging rights.
Epic Games in Cary is the force behind the ultra successful "Gears of War" franchise.
Virtual Heroes, also in Cary, was tapped to develop a training game for the U.S. military, "America's Army."
Engines developed by local companies power other companies' video games.
Wake County recruiters are hoping to showcase those successes and others at this week's Triangle Game Conference -- part of a larger effort to attract game companies to the region.
The video-game industry is especially alluring because it has managed to shrug off the effects of the recession. Game sales rose 26percent to $10.96 billion last year, according to NPD Group, a consumer research firm. Sales in the first two months of this year didn't match that torrid pace but still rose a healthy 10 percent.
Game companies are expanding and hiring. For instance, Epic Games, which has 110 employees in Cary, wants to hire 10 more.
And gaming jobs pay well. The average salary in 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, was $73,600, according to Game Developer magazine.
No wonder then that Wayne Watkins, project manager for the economic development arm of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, has been attending game conferences around the country to talk up the area and pass out maps that pinpoint 30 Triangle video-game companies, which together employ 1,200 workers. The aim is to show that the area is a video game hub.
That's a key selling point to companies considering expansion; workers are more willing to relocate when a region offers multiple opportunities.
"If you are moving people from somewhere else, one of their concerns is, if I don't like [the job] that much, what will I do?" said John Austin, vice president of Emergent, which has 50 workers in Chapel Hill. "Are there other opportunities in the area?"
Austin joined Emergent when it bought the company he headed, Chapel Hill-based NDL, in 2005. Later, when Emergent decided to consolidate its software engineers in Chapel Hill, he was pleased that 10 out of 12 employees agreed to move to the Triangle from Walnut Creek, Calif.
A gaming wasteland
Not that long ago the video-game scene here was almost barren.
Bob Pickens, former president of what is now iEntertainment Network, said his company was all alone when it moved to the Triangle in 1994.
"What attracted us, really, was the reputation of the UNC graduate school of computer graphics," said Pickens, who today is director of entrepreneurship at the nonprofit Council for Entrepreneurial Development in Research Triangle Park.
Other Triangle universities and colleges, including Duke, N.C. State and Wake Technical Community College, now offer programs for game developers.
Wake Tech began offering an associate's degree in simulation and game development in 2006 and today has about 120 students in the program.
Now the local talent pool is a big draw for companies. It figured greatly in Insomniac Games' decision to open a development office in Durham recently. "I don't think anyone wants to live on an island," said Chad Dezern, director of the company's North Carolina studio. "We want to meet with other developers, share stories and best practices." The California-based company has 18 employees in Durham and hopes to expand to 32 by year's end.
Looking for tax breaks
Timothy Buie, co-director of N.C. State's Digital Games Research Center, said the area's recruiting successes bode well for expansion. But Peter Tamte, president of Atomic Games, which came to Raleigh in 2006 and sparked controversy recently with its upcoming title "Six Days in Fallujah," cautioned that other regions, including Montreal and Vancouver, offer tax credits that North Carolina doesn't.
Watkins said he would like to see North Carolina follow the lead of states such as Georgia, Louisiana and Texas that have tailored incentives for the industry. A bill that calls for a 15 percent tax credit for video-game companies has been introduced in the state legislature, although its prospects aren't good given the state's budget problems, said Andy Ellen, a lobbyist for the Entertainment Software Association, which represents the industry.
Even if that bill were to pass, other states offer tax credits of 25percent or more, Ellen said.
Still, he thinks passing such a measure is important: "It's a symbol to the companies out there that we would like to have you here in North Carolina."
But, for some people, it doesn't take incentives or conferences.
When Kristoffer Singleton, 31, a development director, moved his wife and two children to Chapel Hill in September 2007 to work for Emergent, he checked out the region to make sure there was a critical mass of video-game companies. Some colleagues, however, had other criteria.
One, a vegetarian, first made sure there was a Whole Foods grocery store nearby.
or 919-829-4877
Read The News & Observer print edition on your computer with the new e-edition!
Triangle Game Conference
Aimed at industry professionals and students, the event is modeled after an industry conference in Austin, Texas, that attracted 3,000 people last year.
WHEN: Wednesday and Thursday
WHERE: Raleigh Convention Center and Marriott City Center
SPONSOR: Triangle Game Initiative, an industry group headed by Alex Macris, who is also president and CEO of Themis Group, publisher of an online video game magazine, The Escapist.
DETAILS: The conference will feature two days of lectures and panels featuring more than 50 speakers; 20 companies exhibiting their latest games; a career fair; and a "Game Development University."
COST: Starts at $125 for a one-day pass, $250 for two days; $30 per day for students.
INFORMATION: trianglegameconference.com
Share/Email