Golden opportunity for Ireland to drive next phase of video games

The sheer cost and scale of making best-selling console and PC video game titles until now meant Ireland had to content itself with making middleware and providing business support to the video games industry, but that’s about to change.

Games Ireland director Barry O’Neill believes the country’s rich tapestry of social networking activities involving Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and soon Twitter, along with it being home to strategic operations belonging to Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts (EA), Riot Games and many others, will stand Ireland in good stead as social, mobile and casual gaming merges with high-end console and PC titles.

A case in point would be the growth of EA Games’ BioWare operation in the West of Ireland, which is creating 400 jobs to support the next big Star Wars title Old Republic, which will create a whole new ecosystem of virtual goods and m-commerce and e-commerce opportunities.

A Forfas report out last week estimates Ireland could double games industry employment to 4,500 by 2015.

O’Neill said initiatives by Enterprise Ireland, such as iGap and the Competitive Start Fund, are helping Irish gaming start-ups to overcome the barriers to growth that usually impede firms during the critical growth phase involved in moving from 10 to 50 to 100 employees.

“There’s great scope for indigenous companies and multinationals to create a balanced industry – we just need to create the graduates.”

 Image Caption: Barry O'Neill, director, Games Ireland.