For
the average gamer, yesterday's
announcement
from Ubisoft, that it is creating an office in Toronto later this
year, was probably not of very much concern, aside from the
possibility of more Triple-A titles being produced more frequently.
For gamers, artists, coders and pretty much anybody else who has
anything to do with the either side of the industry in the GTA
(that's Greater Toronto Area for those of you not familiar) and
nearby sections of Ontario though, this was a major announcement.
Yannis Mallat, currently CEO of Ubisoft Montreal, and Ontario Premiere Dalton McGuinty doing the photo op thing.
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To
begin with, as I noted yesterday, Torontonians, or anyone else from
the general vicinity, looking for a position with the developing and
publishing giant will no longer have to make the aforementioned
(again, see yesterday's article) six hour jaunt to Quebec. But that
doesn't just mean that those people will no longer have to make a
long trek to apply for a position, they also won't have to leave
their hometown to work for Ubisoft. That means more talent stays
within Ontario, which, naturally, is beneficial for the province as a
whole.
McGuinty speaking at yesterday's press conference. The dais banner says it all.
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There
is something far more important happening here though, and it is the
reason why I initially stated that this move by the government of
Ontario, to invest in bringing a larger video game community to
Ontario, was so long overdue. A few years ago, about September of
2002 to be exact, Avi
Weinryb
and I sat in on a presentation from an Ontario Ministry of Culture
agency, called the Ontario Media Development Corportation (OMDC), to
the Toronto
chapter
of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). This
presentation was meant to introduce new tax breaks for new and
fledgling producers of new media and, what the OMDC calls,
“interactive digital media”.
From
what I recall though, the presentation turned a bit sour close to the
end, during the post-presentation question period, when people began
asking how, as game developers, they could take advantage of the
benefits OMDC was offering. The answer, for the most part, was that
they couldn't. The problem was that, for whatever reason, their
products didn't “fit the bill” for what the OMDC deemed to be
worthy projects. It also appeared to some that the OMDC had
essentially overlooked video games completely. Things didn't get out
of hand, but people weren't exactly happy with what they heard.
Mallat speaks to McGuinty about Ubisoft's games.
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Things
appear to have taken a turn for the better now, thanks to this
announcement, but an investment of this magnitude, in this industry,
from the government of Ontario was long overdue. And while it is
likely that Ubisoft's size, and the economy, played a part in
bringing this plan together, it could also be a good sign for the
future of the video game development community in Ontario overall,
even for smaller companies. If the government plays its cards right,
the Ontario video game development community should continue to grow
and thrive, giving a nice boost to the economy, and local talent will
continue to be just that – local.
It's
not just important news for Ubisoft, it's important news for Ontario.