Digital Content in Queensland:

1
Digital Content in Queensland Issues,
Opportunities and Case Studies CMC Roundtable,
Canberra 22 November 2006
2
Digital Content Industries in Queensland

• Employs over 4500 people
• Over 280 companies have digital content creation
  as their core business. These companies also
  support a range of service industries.
• Primarily located in Brisbane
• Activity spread across sectors entertainment,
  education, and consumer, business and publishing
  sectors
• High level skills and a range of competencies

A frieze from Aurans Trainz Program
3
Issues

• Finance and funding
• Lack of business models (risks and returns)
• Government procurement policies
• Australian venture capital
• Lack of integration into industries that benefit
  from content development
• Keeping IP in Queensland and Australia
• Skills and services
• Education (lot of work done in Queensland)
• Skills attraction
• Branding and recognition
• International events
• Measuring activity
• Lack of broadband connectivity
• Legal Protection
• Need for greater levels of IP Registration
• Need improve protection for digital content

4
Opportunities

• Highly skilled, entrepreneurial and competitive
  environment
• Links within film, television and computer
  software industries
• New infrastructure
• New State Library and
• Gallery of Modern Art integrating new
  technological model of service delivery,
• 550 million 100Mbps fibre-optic broadband
  project in Brisbane
• 60 million Creative Industries Precinct
• Video-conferencing bringing markets to
  Queensland
• Established networks and contracts with US
  companies in the games area
• Home of creative industries and associated
  research.

5
Case Studies

• State Library of Queensland
• Digital library (sounds, texts, images) and
  linking and training for all public library staff
  in Queensland

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(No Transcript)
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• Creative Industries Precinct Kelvin Grove
• Spaces/galleries
• Research
• Commercial businesses

William Long 2005
William Long 2005
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800,000 Interactive Games Industry Package

• Conferences Assistance to companies to
  participate at international Game Developers
  Conferences and E3 expos
• Seed funding towards the preparation of a
  business plan and prospectus for the Electronic
  Games Investment Fund, a Pooled Development Fund
  launched nationally in November 2005
• Funding for Sony Playstation development kits
• Over the past two years, over 200 new jobs have
  been created in Queenslands electronic games
  industry, raising the number of Queenslanders
  employed directly in the development of
  electronic games to approximately 600.
• As a result of this rapid growth, Queensland is
  now the epicentre for games development in
  Australia, representing over 50 per cent of the
  industry nationally.

Photo William Long 2005
9
Tringo

• Nathan Keir Brisbane-based programmer
• Created a new digital game for use in Second
  Life mix of bingo, tetris and suduku
• Sold 300 copies of Tringo for around 50 each in
  Second Life
• Bought by a US company who now sells Tringo on
  Nintendo games consoles.