The Minister of Video Games

[leunas]

Last March, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the culture minister of France, presented the prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres award to three famous video game designers including Nintendo's own Shigeru Miyamoto. Now the minister is taking his love of video games a step further with a brand new title.

Call me the minister of video games if you want - I am proud of this," the minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, said during an interview. "People have looked down on video games for far too long, overlooking their great creativity and cultural value.

His next move is to get video games recognized as an art form which would make it eligible for government tax breaks, much like the French movie industry.

"Video games are not a mere commercial product," Donnedieu de Vabres insisted. "They are a form of artistic expression involving creation from script writers, designers and directors."

Take that Jack Thompson! Stick it where the sun don't shine, Roger Ebert! France thinks video games are a cultural art form right up there with Jerry Lewis and mime. And that, my friends, is enough for me.



www.kotaku.com/gaming/renaud-donnedieu-de-vabres/the-minister-of-video-games-212563.php

[leunas]

Video games = high culture?

Yep, that came from the French Prime Minster himself, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. Recently, this "prime minster of video games" awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (sort of like a Nobel Prize for art in France) medal to three game designers, one of which is Donkey Kong creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. Moreover, he's pushing for a video game tax break similar to French cinema, which is roughly around US 668 million (according to a study two years ago).

Now, this tax break could prove really helpful for most French gaming companies, who are having financial troubles. According to our source, Ubisoft's "been struggling against a high level of debt", while Vivendi "earns most of its revenue from WoW". Of course, there are some parties who are against the said tax break, as it will lead developers "to lose touch with their consumers".

Tax break or not, this move by Donnedieu de Vabres shows that gaming is not merely a past time, but can be elevated to the pantheon of innovations in art and media. And we sure are glad that many are becoming more aware of that.



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[Stuff]

leunas said:

His next move is to get video games recognized as an art form which would make it eligible for government tax breaks, much like the French movie industry.


www.kotaku.com/gaming/renaud-donnedieu-de-vabres/the-minister-of-video-games-212563.php

And on that day, we shall drink much champagne in honor of the French. But we'll feel weird, 'cause it's the French. But whatever, we'll be drunk.

[leunas]

France vies to give artful tax break for game industry



France's Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres is hoping to classify gaming as art. In doing so, the French gaming industry including Ubisoft, Vivendi and Infogrames would receive a 20 percent tax break. France already considers cinema a form of art.

Ignoring the debate on whether or not gaming is an art, the classification has major opposition from the games industry in and around France. The primary concern, as explained by Patrice Chazerand of Interactive Software Federation of Europe, is government interference with the game design process. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot supports the tax break, though its no surprise since Ubisoft could only benefit from savings when their developer studios are too global for French interference.

In March, French decreed the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres to game designers Michel Ancel, Frédérick Raynal and Shigeru Miyamoto.


www.joystiq.com/2006/11/06/france-vies-to-give-artful-tax-break-for-game-industry/

[leunas]

French Minister to Combat Outsourcing with Tax Breaks



Now, videogames may not be the first thing that comes into people's heads when they hear "France," but the fact of the matter is that three of the world's biggest videogame manufacturers - Ubisoft, Infogrames Entertainment and World of Warcraft publisher Vivendi Games - call the country home.

According to Culture minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, local production of videogames is as important to France's national identity as the Louvre, and he is now calling for laws that would prevent the country's videogame companies from outsourcing their production to low cost countries.

One of the things he is suggesting is to give France's game producers the same tax breaks that are given to cultural institutions.

"Call me the minister of video games if you want; I am proud of this," said Donnedieu de Vabres, in a recent interview with the International Herald Tribune. "Video games are not a mere commercial product," he continued. "They are a form of artistic expression."

Of course, the heads of France's videogame industry are all going for the idea. They've even pledged not to even think about outsourcing if the French government agrees to the deal. Says Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, in an interview with the Herald Tribune, "Without production in France, we lose the creativity and diversity that this country offers."


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