Scottish Executive not keen on gaming? Or the Internet?

There's a report in Holyrood Magazine, the Scottish Parliament's publication, about how the gaming industry in Scotland feels it's £30 billion stake in the country's creative industry is being ignored:

“Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise talk a great deal about the knowledge economy and they seem to appreciate its importance, but that is where it ends. The Executive seems to have no concept of how big the games industry, or even the internet, really is, and certainly not of the successes we have had.”

Baglow said that one of the key frustrations for the industry is that the Executive only pays attention to the interactive and games industry when a title containing adult content is released, without realising the benefits such material can bring to Scotland.

Ouch. Agencies such as the one I work for, Learning and Teaching Scotland, do realise the importance of gaming, the 98% of it which is not adult. For the development of the sector within the education sphere a significant amount of effort and cash has been put into researching, applying and advocating the use of commercial, epistemic and educational games in the classroom. Indeed, if plans for handheld devices for 63,000 teachers and learners in the East of Scotland were to be open-minded enough to include wifi and browser-equipped gaming consoles, education and, by proxy, the Executive would in fact become major customers of the gaming industry.

I'm still left agreeing with part of the article's point, that there is a need for symbolism amongst the action, and I don't think it's limited to gaming. Where on the decision-making boards and advisory councils are the country's top internet CEOs, social media experts, online marketing gurus and gaming manufacturers? So far, it would seem, most of that talent seems to be going West to the Valley or South to London.

Comments

[Brian Cunningham]

The argument is a moot point if Jack gets his way, he was reported last week to have said that he wants to ban mobile phones in schools.
Is it me or was it just a knee jerk reaction. Surely it would be better to ban violent pupils from schools rather than phones.

[Brian Cunningham]

The argument is a moot point if Jack gets his way, he was reported last week to have said that he wants to ban mobile phones in schools.
Is it me or was it just a knee jerk reaction. Surely it would be better to ban violent pupils from schools rather than phones.