For the last several years Scotland has suffered from an almost total lack of interest in video games within the mainstream media.
Outside the occasional news story from the business desk, there’s been little recognition of the video games sector as a viable creative industry, or as a valuable part of the country’s economy. Even reviews, which dried up almost entirely over the last couple of years, were focused almost entirely on the AAA console sector, leaving Scotland’s games sector ignored.
This looks like it’s changing. The Scotsman is now running a regular column, written by Martyn McLaughlin, looking at games created in Scotland – and the companies behind them.
The column has been running for a month or so and has already covered the release of GTA V, reviewed I Am Level and Bad Hotel trumpeted the launch of the Scottish Games Network and explored educational gaming, speaking to companies such as Ludometrics and Stormcloud.
This puts the games sector ahead of many other areas of the creative industries, which suffer from a similar lack of regular coverage.
The good news is that there’s more to come – and it needs news. If you’re starting up a new studio, releasing a game, signing a deal or doing anything exciting you should tell the Scotsman (AND Scottishgames.net*).
You can find the latest Scotsman game news on Facebook and follow on Twitter.
* Seriously. If we find things appearing which we’re not being told about, we will hunt you down like a remorseless Terminator.
Yes brilliant progress. And a friendly approach from Martyn too.
It’s great to see and it’s also a thoroughly entertaining read. I wrote the Daily Record’s games column for four years but was told it was being scrapped back in 2011 and they would lift the games coverage from The Mirror in London instead. I was shocked and saddened. So it really is great to see the press finally get behind games coverage in a big way. Great stuff.