 01-29-2008, 05:09 PM | #1 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: lo-ca-tion; Noun- 1. a place or situation occupied: That house is in a fine location Gender:  Posts: 5,193 Thanks: 257 Thanked 140 Times in 105 Posts Points: 14,823.37 Bank: 26,381.59 Total Points: 41,204.96 | Video Games are offically Art (in France)
This is a bit old but no search brought it up, so... Gamasutra - Video Games: Officially Art, In Europe Quote: [The French government and European Commission have agreed in principle to fund tax credits for video games, due to their cultural importance - and Gamasutra tagged along with the French cultural minister and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot to find out why it matters.]
On December 14, 2007, something unusual happened in Paris -- odd, even. It was crucial for the French video game industry, and maybe for the perception of video games as a whole. Christine Albanel, the new French secretary of culture and communication -- not the one who gave Knight in the Order of Arts and Literature medals to Shigeru Miyamoto, Michel Ancel and Frédérick Raynal back in March 2006 -- paid an official visit to one of Ubisoft's studios in Montreuil, a couple of miles at the east of Paris gates.
"Why pay Ubisoft such a visit?" we candidly asked Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft (pictured with Albanel below). "Well, the tax credits for video game productions have just been voted in yesterday by the European Commission. We wanted to talk a little bit about it, and Ms. Albanel wanted to show that she cares about video games, and that she intends to participate and help this industry to grow".
"Independent studios working with Ubisoft are free to use or not the tax credits with their common production. At Quantic Dream, we're working on the biggest production in France (PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain) with Sony as a publisher. What interests me regarding Ubisoft is that they start new projects in France instead of abroad."
Which brings us back to the Ubisoft's studio visit by the secretary of culture. Before a quick and superficial chat with Yves Guillemot and six French studio representatives in front of the cameras, Ms. Albanel made a tour with four or five stops through the three-floor studio. She checked on the monitors how French creation Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 was developed.
Then, always for the cameras, she was given a Wiimote and nunchuk to try out a game with the silly rabbits (which are originally baptized "lapins cretins" in French -- "cretins" having the same meaning in French as in English). Everybody had a smile, herself included, while shaking the controllers.
It was a strange, somewhat artificial show that probably served its political purpose -- but still raised some questions that would be rude to ask on this day of celebration.
What really matters for everybody related to video games is that, in Europe, starting now, video game has the official stature of a "cultural activity" -- a cultural expression where art and artists are attached to video games as they are to music and movies.
Suddenly the French government agrees with us -- video games are nothing to be ashamed of working on, or playing with. | Cleary the only appropriate response is...  |
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![](http://www.vgf.com/forums/images/gifts/medal.gif "By the order of the Garter, I hereby bestow upon thee the George cross of "Gallantry" which signifies you are an honorary member of the (order) Knights of the round. Now that thou have received your Knighthood, be noble sir Knight a - Kevrosini")
