MEP Seeks To Improve European Games Industry

James Maaten, a Member of the European Parliament, is organising a conference in an attempt to take the European games industry “to the next level.”The conference is designed to bring more attention to the games industry in Europe, with the hope of strengthening Europe’s position in terms of game development.”Europe has to encourage the further development of creative sectors like the games industry,” explained Maaten.”Everybody would gain from such additional focus: the developers, the economy, but also the consumer and I’m advocating an EU programme for the stimulation of the European games industry.”The reasoning behind this – and the timing – seems fairly clear as worldwide sales of games recently surpassed the turnover of the movie industry, and they’re still growing, despite the current economic climate.”The market has changed and today, all generations are enjoying computer games. They are also becoming more important in medical science, where they can help save lives, and for educational purposes. Therefore, Europe has to help the European games industry grow to an even higher level to participate in these major opportunities that the market is presenting,” continued Maaten.The conference is being co-hosted by ALDE Members of Parliament Chris Davies, Magor Imre Csibi, and Yorgo Chatzimarkakis, and guest speakers include Alexander Fernandez – president and CEO of Streamline Studios, which has worked on Unreal Tournament 3, Overlord, Gears of War, and Saint’s Row, amongst others – and Dr. Pamela Kato, who will be presenting her game Re-Mission, designed to help young cancer sufferers learn about their disease.It looks like the conference is set to take place on 15 April.