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Foxconn pledges to still build Wisconsin factory after Trump talks
Following talks with President Trump, Foxconn says it is indeed building a factory at its Wisconsin campus. Earlier this week, the company caused a furor when it said it's shifting plans away from manufacturing to focus on a research and engineering center. Now it seems it's doing both.
Foxconn may not manufacture anything in Wisconsin after all
In 2017, Foxconn revealed plans to build a Wisconsin campus as part of a $10 billion investment that would create up to 13,000 jobs in the state. It pledged to build large-screen LCD displays there, and President Trump touted the project as a victory for his goal of reviving US manufacturing fortunes. Fast forward to 2019, and Foxconn says around three-quarters of jobs at the campus will be in design and research and development -- and it may not manufacture displays there at all.
Apple's iCloud data center gets green light to come to Reno, be a star
Apple's plans to erect an iCloud data center in Sparks, Reno have gained traction now the local board of economic development have rubber-stamped the deal. While largely ceremonial, it's given its assent to $89 million in tax breaks to entice the company to break ground on the weirdly-named "Project Jonathan Hub." The new data center is expected to go live before the end of the year, hopefully ensuring that upgrading to OS 10.9 aren't as fraught as they were for Mountain Lion last week. [Image credit: Amy Meredith, Flickr]
Tiga re-requests UK tax breaks in wake of Wisconsin incentives
Tiga, the trade association for game developers in the UK and Europe, points to Wisconsin's recently passed incentives for game developers as a sign for the UK government to get on the tax break ball. GI.biz reports that Tiga's CEO, Richard Wilson, is asking the UK government to "play its part" and "establish a more favourable tax environment, increase the supply of skilled graduates without sacrificing quality and keep the regulatory costs on business relatively low."Tiga recently made similar statements after the US state of Georgia gave some tax relief to the games industry. Wilson's comments about "skilled graduates" is probably the result of a recent report in the UK, which found that the country was experiencing a skilled labor shortage. The UK and Australia are currently competing in a tax break whine-off as other nations and states offer various forms of attractive tax relief to game developers.
EU approves tax breaks for developers
The European Commission has approved film industry tax breaks to the video game industry. The request was made by the French government and the program will offer a 20% rebate to games that have a "criteria of quality, originality and contribute to cultural diversity." It is estimated that half of the games created in Europe this year would have qualified for the rebate. There's obviously some easy French jokes that could be tossed in here, but let's build bridges, shall we?Governments recognizing games as "culture" and supporting the industry with tax incentives is an issue that's popping up with developers all over the world. Canada is kind to developers, while Australian developers (last time we heard) continue to fight for tax breaks in their country where the film industry actually gets a 40% tax rebate. The countries which cut the costs, promote the industry and look yummy to developers already strapped for cash.
Australian developers still want their tax break
The Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) has followed up previous calls by writing to the Government's arts minister and opposition minister asking that the game industry receive the 40% tax rebate offered to the film industry. The GDAA says that the break would bring in an extra $5 million a year of investment capital in Australian developers." We have a commitment to ensuring that participants in the interactive entertainment industry are equally competitive with our overseas competitors," said Greg Bondar, executive director of the GDAA. The Australian request is similar to the tax breaks in Canada which have brought more investment into their country's game industry. Well, here's hoping for the tax break, because that'll be a g'day for GDAA. Oy, that was awful.
DS fans unsurprised at French view of games as art
Earlier this month, the French minister of culture declared that video games should be included in the industries that are considered for tax breaks in that country -- something limited to artistic endeavors. Yes, that's right ... in France, someone is moving for games to be declared bastions of art. That's quite different from what we've more often heard over the years, but it's not too new for France, a nation that offered up Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (awards for cultural achievement) to game designers, including our own Shigeru Miyamoto. But are we surprised by the move? DS fans know all about the art of video games; after all, it's our handheld that's leading the rebirth of games that are only there to tell a story -- games like Phoenix Wright and Contact, games that aren't so much about the gameplay as they are about what happens during gameplay. Sure, Halo has an intriguing story (albeit one ripped from the dozens of sci-fi franchises that came before), but in the end, Halo isn't about the story. It's about shooting things with weapons. And that's all well and good, but a compelling story adds a lot to a game. People aren't hoping for Final Fantasy VI redux (ala the update on FFIII) because of the gameplay, though as an RPG, it is hailed at the forefront of the genre. Still, fans want it for the game itself -- the rich world and compelling characters. It's that quality that we crave in a game and that so many products of the industry lack.France's move will, we hope, spur that further. When it comes to the question of art, games are often spurned as not serious, as brain-rotting fluff. Hey, sometimes, that's what makes a game fun. Mario Kart isn't, after all, an epic quest for the golden cup. It's about watching your best good friends shake their fist in the wake of your exhaust fumes. But there have been great examples of storytelling in games, and what's more, there have been ideas, kernels of stories that have been lost because hey, who cares about the story?
