The Insider: Ben Franklin would be proud - Philadelphia ramps up as the next hotspot for the video game industry
By Mike Worth and Chad Breitenfeld
Philly is undoubtedly well known for its unrivaled cheese steaks, fanatical sport fans and of course, Trading Places. In the not too distant future, Philadelphia may be equally well known as the East Coast destination for the Interactive Software Entertainment Industry or in laymen’s terms, video game production, in all shapes, sizes and applications.
When video games first were produced, Japan (Nintendo, Konami, Namco-Bandai) was the epicenter of the industry. American studios seeking to be as close as possible to the industry epicenter, naturally established themselves on the West Coast. With Europe now emerging as a video game studio powerhouse and the rise of technologically savvy East Coast developers, video game companies are now looking to the East Coast to set-up shop. In fact, three of the most popular (and best-selling) games in the recent past have not come from San Francisco, but from Boston, Maryland, and Raleigh/Durham. Philadelphia, with its’ deep tech-savvy talent pool, internet entrepreneurs, and its’ strong artistic and cultural heritage, is a natural “next hot spot” for the rapidly expanding video game industry.
Several other factors contribute to the growing recognition that Philly is it. The City of Brotherly Love is located between 5 major video game cities, which give easy access to professionals looking to establish new studios. Philly's location also ensures a strong sense of community in the video game industry, as Philly can sponsor industry events and conferences, and easily attract individuals from other established communities in the business corridor. Furthermore, Philly's rent and cost of living are over 30% cheaper than the high cost-of-living areas like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, which translates to start-up costs that are considerably less. Moreover, Philadelphia's already vibrant creative community means that video game developers will be able to settle in a city with a rich culture, great social life, and strong artistic presence. Finally, Philly has over 40 universities within 30 minutes (including Drexel and University of Pennsylvania, both of which have Game Design and Programming degrees), which means that incoming studios will have a wealth of interns and entry-level employees to mine for their projects.
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Spotlight: Jane McGonigal
Innovation Philadelphia spotlights regional creative industry entrepreneurs, young professionals making an impact on the Philadelphia region, or innovative initiatives that showcase the tremendous innovative and creative talent driving Philadelphia’s economy.
Game guru, Jane McGonigal, is Innovation Philadelphia’s August spotlight. Jane will be one of the four keynote speakers at the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit, October 5-6, 2009.
Jane McGonigal is one of the coolest people on the planet, not only because she is highly intelligent and down-to-earth, but also because she is innovatively working to integrate an entertaining medium, games, in a substantive way—to solve real-world problems with the ultimate goal of making the world a more positive, happier place. To the general public, this may seem idealistic, but essentially, the history of game play is rooted in the concept that when you play a game, you feel better. It’s entertaining and you get lost in the fun of playing the game.
Jane focuses on game design, development, and research in alternate reality gaming (ARG). As she stated in the New Yorker Conference in 2008, alternative reality gaming is “making games that live on top of our real world to make our experience of living better.” Jane focuses on massive multi-player games that introduce collaboration to solve real-world problems. While speaking at the New Yorker Conference, she defined her game design work under the criteria of the “Economy of Engagement.” Games should be satisfying work to do, they should give people the experience of being good at something, games should provide a community where people are spending time with others that they actually like, and they should give people a chance to be apart of something bigger. Satisfying these criteria allows for successful massive multi-player collaboration with tangible results.
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GameX Features Games, Celebrities,
Animation, Art, Music and More.
 GameX (Games & Media Expo), scheduled for October 23-25, 2009 in Philadelphia, is shaping up to be a high impact game consumer show and pop culture festival, designed to draw from local, regional and national audiences of game players, film and TV fans, comic book buffs and tech enthusiasts.
Presented by NBC Local Media in Philadelphia, GameX is a high-visibility entertainment, tech and media show with games as its main attraction. GameX features video game exhibits, demos and high stakes game tournaments, as well as pop culture elements such as advance film and TV screenings and trailers, celebrity guest appearances, live video game music, robotics demonstrations, an animation festival, competitive art exhibit, and much more.
Major game publishers already include Electronic Arts and SEGA, both introducing brand new products due to be released in early 2010. Game fans will have the opportunity to try out game play on these titles before they are available in stores. EA will feature their new title, Dante’s InfernoTM, which recently debuted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
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Register for the Creative Associations
Showcase on August 19 at Thirteen
Network with your fellow creative professionals and meet representatives from regional technology-driven creative associations at Center City District SIPS, this summer’s hottest happy hour series. Participating organizations include PANMA, the Industrial Design Society Association-Philadelphia, AIGA Philadelphia, the Usability Professionals’ Association-Delaware Valley Chapter, the American Institute of Architects-Philadelphia, and PhillyCHI. |
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