UK government plans tax breaks for 'culturally British' games

by Jem Alexander { Jun 17th 2009 at 1:45PM }

The long battle for UK tax breaks for games industry pros may finally be over, with the government stating in its recent Digital Britain report that it "has committed to work with the industry to collect and review the evidence for a tax relief." Here's the kicker, though. In order to be worthy of these potential tax breaks, the games must be "culturally British."

What this means is unclear, but games would need to be put through a test to determine whether they can be deemed "culturally British," in a way similar to the UK film industry. Certain British games, such as LittleBigPlanet -- whose narrator is a British national treasure -- and Fable 2 -- with its cockney characters and very English humor -- would be shoo-ins. Other games, such as Burnout Paradise, might need to make a few changes. Perhaps we'll see London landmarks like Big Ben or the London Eye introduced in a future DLC pack.

Tags: britain, culturally-british, England, europe, tax-breaks, tea, UK

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Collymilad @ Jun 17th 2009 1:48PM

turd

Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 17th 2009 1:48PM

stephen fry ftw. LBP's tutorials are the only tutorials i've ever actually sat through.

Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 17th 2009 1:57PM

also, can CoD4 count, since captain price and soap are awesome?

why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 17th 2009 1:49PM

Tea simulator.

Hyams @ Jun 17th 2009 1:50PM

I'm British, and even I'm not too sure what a "culturally British" game is. Do we just have to stick English voice actors into everything?

mr nimblewick @ Jun 17th 2009 2:04PM

Colour.

Petebot330 @ Jun 17th 2009 2:36PM

Foetus.

The Baron @ Jun 17th 2009 2:54PM

Yeah I'm confused too.. are we trying to merge our tourism and video game taxation departments?

Surely just tax breaks for games made in Britain in general would make more sense. Hits like Burnout, Fable 2 and GTA sell millions and bring in the revenue.

GenBanks @ Jun 17th 2009 3:27PM

Well if it means that we see a 'GTA V: London' in order to get 'culturally british' tax breaks then it'll have been worth it for sure...

Empire Total War might be an example of a game that is 'culturally British' imo, it's full of sly remarks and cultural references in the text descriptions made by the UK-based CA team. Not to mention the fact that GB as a faction has so many unique units.

It's also great in theory if you live in the UK and looking for a job... tax cuts for games devs = more games devs = more games industry jobs here :)

Although on the other hand, the 'culturally british' requirement might counteract the incentive of the tax break, and the govt will just lose money without the benefit of extra jobs.

We'll see I guess, but I think it's an interesting idea.

error2k2 @ Jun 17th 2009 4:19PM

Yeah, I was thinking GTA London 1969 too. WANT!

Balloonfighter99 @ Jun 17th 2009 2:03PM

Lets get this outta the way: Brits got bad teeth, they eat weird food and everyone thats lives in Britain wears a monocle. Ello Govnah, Right Right, Cherrio!!!

Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Jun 17th 2009 2:04PM

Jolly good show, ol' chap!

Tom Hands @ Jun 17th 2009 2:05PM

"Cherrio" sounds more like a cherry flavoured cereal than anything I'd ever say as a British person :P

Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 17th 2009 2:11PM

pip pip cheerio

Mazrael @ Jun 17th 2009 2:29PM

We sound nothing like that.. I sound more like Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, being from Birmingham too

Tom Hands @ Jun 17th 2009 2:32PM

Whey another Brummie! I'm from Redditch living in Leicester so I have a slight brummie accent :)

The Baron @ Jun 17th 2009 2:55PM

I'm from up fuckin' north mate, we're aard as nails here

Ubiqutous Oxymoron @ Jun 17th 2009 3:08PM

I'm from Coventry and every sunday we have tea and cucumber sandwhich's and a game of cricket on the village green.

on the subject, I work in the serious games sector and think this is a great idea especially if you include history/culture/eductation/heritage in the 'culturally British' category.

SGI + CD&V FTW

mazza_man @ Jun 17th 2009 3:30PM

I'm from fookin essex mate...don't diss or I'll shank ya...

Fossii @ Jun 17th 2009 3:28PM

I'm from Scotland so "Och Aye The Noo" and all that...

McWilly @ Jun 17th 2009 4:43PM

What else is there? I know the GTA series is british made.

Maverick Saturn @ Jun 17th 2009 8:24PM

I'm from London....the capital of England....and I don't have an accent, I speak normal, no up and downs, no high pitched endings, no rollings of the tongue, no slang, no destrying of words, no poshness, no commoness, no seperating of words....just plain and simply normal :D

Wouldn't have it any other way :D

FlamingEffigy @ Jun 18th 2009 4:51AM

You may think you speak normal, but the rest of the country cannot stand your accent :P

mr nimblewick @ Jun 17th 2009 2:03PM

Okay, the British started protectionism! Time to lock down on foreign imports to America!

Ghost Ripper @ Jun 17th 2009 2:04PM

Oh Shit.

KaBob799 @ Jun 17th 2009 2:05PM

That seems stupid

Kogen @ Jun 17th 2009 2:06PM

People are upset that British games are not forced to be American?

Although I can see some issues with this, not all games are realistic, cartoony/sci-fi stuff might have issues here.

Balloonfighter99 @ Jun 17th 2009 2:07PM

and British Cherrios are cherry flavored for some reason

butaneko @ Jun 17th 2009 2:36PM

If they are really Cherrios and not Cheerios it makes perfect sense

Tim @ Jun 17th 2009 2:08PM

Wait, does this mean that if Konami makes references to Bakura's "wanker's cramp" from Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series, then, it gets pounds off the sheets?

Tim @ Jun 17th 2009 6:58PM

Someone apparently missed the bloody joke.

Darayz @ Jun 17th 2009 2:14PM

So if Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare were made in the UK, would the studio have gotten a Tax break? Captain Price and Gaz were British. I'm pretty sure "Oy, Suzie" is culturally British for "Hey Nancy-boy."

Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 17th 2009 2:26PM

how can you forget soap?

TC @ Jun 17th 2009 3:29PM

Call of Duty characters are culturally British or US depending on how you play the game. If you quit the game early it becomes culturally French.

Darayz @ Jun 17th 2009 3:37PM

@TC HAHAHAHA. That comment made my day.

Daxter @ Jun 17th 2009 2:16PM

Dude GTA has to be culturally scottish, made in Edinburgh and full of drunks, racists and alot of cursing, whats more scottish than that? Maybe a wee bit of irn bru.

mr mobius @ Jun 17th 2009 2:15PM

So is a FPS during The Troubles in Northern Ireland on the line?

I guess every single WWII game will get tax breaks then?

GenBanks @ Jun 17th 2009 3:32PM

Most WW2 games seem culturally more American than British, even the ones that feature Britain as a playable side, since they are so stereotyped towards American expectations of what a typical British person should be like.
Imo the British in Company of Heroes are a good example of Brits done well in a WW2 game.

Although I guess this just shows the inherent problem with drawing a line on what is 'culturally british'.

Cosmo @ Jun 17th 2009 2:15PM

:in Cockney accent: What's all this then?

Cosmo @ Jun 17th 2009 2:16PM

Confirmed, next Fallout 3 DLC in early 2010 will be in the U.K! : )

Erluti @ Jun 17th 2009 2:19PM

Aren't they tearing down the London eye because it clashes with the skyline and they don't want it to be a landmark?

Maverick Saturn @ Jun 17th 2009 8:26PM

Since when? It makes cash like crazy, sounds like a stupid ass move to me, so doubt it.

doom saber @ Jun 17th 2009 2:27PM

I wonder if this will prompt some british developer to make a game based on Life on Mars(UK ver) and/or Ashes to Ashes. Both shows appear to be culturally British.

Hyams @ Jun 17th 2009 2:29PM

I demand a Doctor Who game.

mazza_man @ Jun 17th 2009 3:31PM

I second the Doctor Who motion.

Alex @ Jun 17th 2009 2:30PM

Wallace and Gromit XBLA game sucked eggs. It wasn't even the real Wallace!

I am going to design a Chuckle Brothers Game. It will be called To Me, To You, and the sequel will be To Me, To You 2. I haven't worked on a story/plot/gameplay style as of yet.