Dundee MSP to lead new video games group at Scottish Parliament
A cross-party Scottish Parliament group on the video games industry will hold its first meeting in March.
- By Stefan Morkis
- Published in the Courier : 19.01.12
- Published online : 19.01.12 @ 01.38pm
The group received official approval from Holyrood's standards, procedures and public appointments committee on Wednesday.
Dundee City West MSP Joe FitzPatrick will be the group's convener, while Finance Secretary John Swinney is expected to attend the first meeting.
Mr FitzPatrick said: ''Over the last few months I've been meeting with a number of key industry representatives in an effort to make a cross-party group on video games a reality.
''I feel that it is vitally important that we get policy-makers, developers and educators into the same room so that we can look at the challenges facing the industry and come up with constructive solutions.''
He added: ''The first meeting of the cross-party group is currently scheduled to take place in early March.''
Mr FitzPatrick said the committee would work to help nurture the video games industry, which is a crucial party of Dundee's economy.
He said: ''The growth and job-creating potential of the video games sector is immense. Clusters of video games developers like what we have in Dundee are potential catalysts for much broader urban economic growth.
''With the Waterfront project now really beginning to take shape, we must seize these opportunities to help Dundee fulfil its true potential.''
He added: ''We already punch above our weight in the video games industry, with dozens of developers choosing to locate their businesses in Scotland, particularly in Dundee. This delivers highly skilled employment opportunities, especially for our young graduates.
''With recent reports suggesting that the UK economy is sliding back into recession due to the Westminster government's drastic cuts, the time to act is now. I very much hope by creating this new group that we can identify what specific problems the industry is facing and then extend our support in order to stimulate new growth in the sector that will create more highly skilled jobs.''
One of Dundee's leading games companies is Denki, who announced yesterday their BAFTA-winning game Quarrel will be released on Xbox Live next Wednesday.
The game was previously only available on iOS devices.
Photo © Tim Ireland/PA Archive
09.30pm - 19.01.2012 James W. - Dundee, Scotland Report This
How many jobs has Mr Fitzpatrick brought to Dundee since he got elected?
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