US Government Targeting Violent Video Games (again)

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**Ahtman**

Source

American creators of “violent” video games beware: Washington D.C. might just take a swipe at you in its upcoming tax reform bill.

According to The Washington Examiner, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee’s “long-awaited” bill reforming the American tax codes singles out the creators of violent video games, refusing them a proposed research and development tax break.

“On page 19 of the executive summary,” the newspaper reports, “the committee mentions an improved and permanent research and development tax credit, which has benefitted countless industries from manufacturers to software creators to food producers.” As such, the bill proposes a so-called “improved, permanent R&D tax credit” in order for American companies “to compete against their foreign competition who have long had permanent R&D incentives.”

But as the newspaper states, page 24 of the bill “removes that tax credit from the violent video game industry, under a section about closing loopholes… One of the plan’s provisions: ‘Preventing makers of violent video games from qualifying for the R&D tax credit.’”

The Washington Examiner notes the incredible irony of this statement, “given the fact that on the very next page the summary says the bill ‘stops the practice of using the tax code to pick winners and losers based on political power rather than economic merit.’”

Interestingly, the Examiner concludes that the bill “would affect companies like Electronic Arts, which makes violent games like ‘Battlefield’ but also non-violent games like ‘FIFA Soccer’ and ‘The Sims.’” Therefore, companies associated with the development or publishing of violent games – even if some or most of their wares aren’t considered violent – would lose out on the tax credit completely.

**purplefood**

There is no violent video game industry just like there is no violent film industry or violent book industry... There's no way adults came up with this idea... not smart ones at any rate.
Give that the game industry is also a colossal industry in terms of economics it's bizarre this is even happening. (Estimates place the industry as a whole at something around $93 billion in 2013 and are expecting it to rise) This kind of legislation would cut into that and if we know anything about videogame publishers it's that they enjoy their money.

**iproxtaco**

Absolutely nothing positive can come from this.

**Palindrome**

purplefood wrote:

Give that the game industry is also a colossal industry in terms of economics .

Its not just colossal its also global, more so than most industries given the nature of the product. This will not only do absolutely nothing to stop 'violent' games, if they even need stopping, it will also strengthen the industry in the rest of the world at the expense of the US. An excellent piece of legislation

Automatically Appended Next Post:

iproxtaco wrote:
Absolutely nothing positive can come from this.

It will have very little effect on gamers.

**purplefood**

Palindrome wrote:
purplefood wrote:

Give that the game industry is also a colossal industry in terms of economics .

Its not just colossal its also global, more so than most industries given the nature of the product. This will not only do absolutely nothing to stop 'violent' games, if they even need stopping, it will also strengthen the industry in the rest of the world at the expense of the US. An excellent piece of legislation

I just find it hard to believe such a colossal industry would allow something like this to happen without a fight.

**iproxtaco**

Palindrome wrote:
iproxtaco wrote:
Absolutely nothing positive can come from this.

It will have very little effect on gamers.

Perhaps, but I don't think it'll do anything good for an industry that could be facing some very tough times in the near future.

**Palindrome**

iproxtaco wrote:

.... an industry that could be facing some very tough times in the near future.

Such as?

**iproxtaco**

Palindrome wrote:
iproxtaco wrote:

.... an industry that could be facing some very tough times in the near future.

Such as?

Increasing development costs coupled with decreasing sales? It's been a problem for a while now and is only going to get worse in the short term.

**Palindrome**

iproxtaco wrote:

Increasing development costs coupled with decreasing sales? It's been a problem for a while now and is only going to get worse in the short term.

Only for AAA games, which to be honest I couldn't care less about in the main. 'Lesser' games are still going strong.

**iproxtaco**

Palindrome wrote:
iproxtaco wrote:

Increasing development costs coupled with decreasing sales? It's been a problem for a while now and is only going to get worse in the short term.

Only for AAA games, which to be honest I couldn't care less about in the main. 'Lesser' games are still going strong.

AAA games a massive part of the industry. Possibly the biggest part of it, and certainly the part that would affect the most gamers if it fell on hard times.

**Jihadin**

Wow...UK in a uproar over this.....W T H....

**LordofHats**

Video games aren't exactly known for putting mountains of money into R&D, double standard set aside.

**purplefood**

Jihadin wrote:Wow...UK in a uproar over this.....W T H....

Probably because of the time this was posted.

LordofHats wrote:Video games aren't exactly known for putting mountains of money into R&D, double standard set aside.

I think the advances we have made into computers because of the need for better graphics and more processor power is at least part of the motivation provided by videogames...
Consumer sales provides the motivation if not the money for a lot of technological advances. If no one thought you could make money from it no one would have bothered with the microwave for instance.

**LordofHats**

purplefood wrote:

I think the advances we have made into computers because of the need for better graphics and more processor power is at least part of the motivation provided by videogames...
Consumer sales provides the motivation if not the money for a lot of technological advances. If no one thought you could make money from it no one would have bothered with the microwave for instance.

Yeah, but the software makers (the people who make violent games) aren't the primary ones spending the money on that technology. A lot of it is developed elsewhere (Microsoft, Apple, Colleges and Universities, IBM, etc etc). This doesn't really effect game developers that much.

**Fafnir**

I'd imagine developing a game engine could be considered part of R&D.

Really though, regardless of the effect this may have, the bill itself is ridiculous.

**Retrogamer0001**

Well, at least they're leaving the porn industry alone...

**trexmeyer**

Retrogamer0001 wrote:
Well, at least they're leaving the porn industry alone...

I personally find porn gross, but as long as it is two consenting adults then it is none of my business. What does bother me is the violent pornography out there. If anything that is far more disturbing than anything that goes on in 99% of video games. Then you have gorno films. Also more disturbing than anything in 99% of video games. Hell, I can only think of one thing that actually disturbed me in any of the video games I've played and that really had absolutely nothing to do with violence. If the government actually wanted to do something constructive they would go after the modding community because I've yet to see anything produced by a video game that approaches the depths of depravity I've witnessed in some mods.

**LordofHats**

trexmeyer wrote:
Retrogamer0001 wrote:
Well, at least they're leaving the porn industry alone...

I personally find porn gross, but as long as it is two consenting adults then it is none of my business. What does bother me is the violent pornography out there. If anything that is far more disturbing than anything that goes on in 99% of video games. Then you have gorno films. Also more disturbing than anything in 99% of video games. Hell, I can only think of one thing that actually disturbed me in any of the video games I've played and that really had absolutely nothing to do with violence. If the government actually wanted to do something constructive they would go after the modding community because I've yet to see anything produced by a video game that approaches the depths of depravity I've witnessed in some mods.

Free speech is a bitch sometimes.

The politicians are probably just trying to score points with the moral guardians. I'm unaware of any game developer that has a research grant for anything, and even if they did have some, the loss isn't going to hurt. It makes violent games an easy target for this bill because the outcome won't matter, i.e. devs and publishers won't fight it and politicians get to claim they did something.

**Retrogamer0001**

I think it's incredibly stupid to continue picking on violent video games as a source for all the idiocy and depravity in the world (note that that idiocy and depravity has existed long before video games ever did). What about violent films? Songs that contain violent lyrics? Violent television shows? Violence in sporting events? War? Where is all the legislation on these issues? No, video games are used as a scapegoat because it's easy to point the finger at them and very few politicians/parents understand them in the first place.

**LordofHats**

American Politics; We try to distract you from the things that matter with things that don't even make sense.

Murica

**Palindrome**

iproxtaco wrote:

AAA games a massive part of the industry. Possibly the biggest part of it, and certainly the part that would affect the most gamers if it fell on hard times.

Its not as if AAA games will die,its just that big publishers will be forced to evolve away from franchise treadmills and actually start to innovate, or at least diversify. This can only be good for gamers.

**purplefood**

Palindrome wrote:
iproxtaco wrote:

AAA games a massive part of the industry. Possibly the biggest part of it, and certainly the part that would affect the most gamers if it fell on hard times.

Its not as if AAA games will die,its just that big publishers will be forced to evolve away from franchise treadmills and actually start to innovate, or at least diversify. This can only be good for gamers.

I imagine it'd get even worse. No one wants to spend too much money on something that definitely won't sell, what will happen is what happened to MMOs. Everyone will want to be the big thing so they'll just copy that last big thing. For MMOs everyone wanted a slice of WoWs pie. There will be a pretty big game that may or may not innovate and then everyone will copy that kind of base formula...
Either that or they refuse to put enough money into games for proper development so we just see a decrease in overall quality while prices remain the same or increase.
The sensible thing to do would be to focus more on a small indie kind of development where you end up making games with heart that are not only close to the community but new and innovative.

**Palindrome**

purplefood wrote:

I imagine it'd get even worse. No one wants to spend too much money on something that definitely won't sell, what will happen is what happened to MMOs. Everyone will want to be the big thing so they'll just copy that last big thing. For MMOs everyone wanted a slice of WoWs pie. .

MMOs are actually a good example of why slavishly copying someone elses game makes extremely bad buisness sense. There are a handful of succesful 3rd person MMOs but they are all quite old, now the genre has a growing pile of broken publisher hopes and dreams. I think the best example will be The new Elder Scrolls MMO and thats not even been released yet.

EA and its bretheren may well find themselves in difficulties but there are plenty of other publishers/developers such as Paradox and InXile who will happily keep producing quality games that are at least as good, and I would argue better, than the output of the 'big names'. A game like Wasteland 2 probably cost less to make than one of CoDs bombastic cutscenes.

In short the gaming industry is likely to become healther once the AAA market has been shaken.

**purplefood**

Palindrome wrote:
purplefood wrote:

I imagine it'd get even worse. No one wants to spend too much money on something that definitely won't sell, what will happen is what happened to MMOs. Everyone will want to be the big thing so they'll just copy that last big thing. For MMOs everyone wanted a slice of WoWs pie. .

MMOs are actually a good example of why slavishly copying someone elses game makes extremely bad buisness sense. There are a handful of succesful 3rd person MMOs but they are all quite old, now the genre has a growing pile of broken publisher hopes and dreams. I think the best example will be The new Elder Scrolls MMO and thats not even been released yet.

EA and its bretheren may well find themselves in difficulties but there are plenty of other publishers/developers such as Paradox and InXile who will happily keep producing quality games that are at least as good, and I would argue better, than the output of the 'big names'. A game like Wasteland 2 probably cost less to make than one of CoDs bombastic cutscenes.

In short the gaming industry is likely to become healther once the AAA market has been shaken.

I agree but it'd need a bit of time to recover first... it would also need to be a pretty big shake otherwise it'd just fall back into old habits again.

**Platuan4th**

Retrogamer0001 wrote:
Well, at least they're leaving the porn industry alone...

In volatile market, only stable investment is porn.