Tag Archives: texas

Star Wars: The Old Republic veterans making their home in or around the Lone Star state have a chance to try out BioWare’s latest content ahead of the plebs.

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EA has made its new Texas development studio official, and announced 300 new jobs.

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What the world needs now is jobs – sweet jobs – and in Texas, they’ve got them. Having poured USD $234 million and 3,400 permanent positions into the Lone Star State, the games industry is being hailed as a success story of economic incentives schemes.

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Quakecon’s to be held at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas, id said today, not the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas as previously planned.

If you’d already booked into the Anatole for the shoot-fest, your room’s been cancelled. You need to ring up the Gaylord and get re-reserving.

Quakecon 2009 takes place from August 13-16.

Thanks, BigDownload.

THQ’s grabbed a 33,000 sqft office in Austin, Texas, according to Kotaku.

Gama reckons the facility’s for Vigil Games, the developer currently putting together THQ’s 40K MMO.

Still no date on the game, however.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed into law House Bill 873 which increases the amount of state grants available to video game firms and other media production companies in the Lonestar State.

The press release mainly focuses on what this means to the movie industry, but it applies to all forms of media created by companies that take up shop in the state.

“The passage of House Bill 873 is an important step in helping Texas regain its footing in the moving image business,” Gov. Perry said. “With this legislation, we are strengthening our state’s investment in a vital industry that not only shows off our state to the rest of the world, but also draws investment and creates jobs for Texans.”

ESA’s Mike Gallagher, who lobbied for the bill’s support back in March, seemed very pleased with the governor’s decision.

“I commend Governor Rick Perry and the Texas state legislature for recognizing the contributions that the video game industry already has made in the state, and for acting quickly and decisively to ensure that the industry has the opportunity to reach its full potential,” he said.

“Today, Texas showed its strong willingness to stay competitive with other states that are seeking to attract video game developers and publishers.”

Whole thing through the break.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

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ESA bossman Michael Gallagher is asking the Texas government for stronger tax incentives for software companies doing business in the state.

Gallagher explains that the development community in Texas is just as important as the SXSW conference created for the state’s music and entertainment industry.

The Texas Senate and House of Representative are currently considering bills to expand such economic incentives, and Gallagher wants the game industry to be included in the decision-making process.

“Texas currently risks falling behind several states in economic incentive programs for the entertainment industry, he said.

“This year alone, thirteen states are actively considering legislation that will either create or significantly expand their existing incentive program for digital interactive media development and production.

“These incentives not only help meet the needs of the video game industry for talented programmers and animators, but also help keep the state’s brightest young minds from moving away.”

More through the link.

As you can see on the QuakeCon site, registration for the Texan id show opens on March 6.

You’ll be able to book tickets from 9.30pm EST.

This year’s QuakeCon takes place August 13-16, 2009, in Dallas, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel.

The State of Texas has decided that February 3 will from here on out be known as Entertainment Software Day.

The event’s been created to pay homage to the impact the videogame industry has had on the state’s economy.

In 2006 the games trade grew 16 percent in the Lone Star State says GamesIndustry.biz, and added $395 million to the economy. To help this figure grow even more, in 2007 the state legislature passed a bill in which provides tax rebates to videogame companies.

According to the ESA’s Michael D Gallagher, “These lawmakers are helping grow our industry as we work to create new jobs for Texans; boost the state’s economy; and help discover new ways computer and videogames can improve the ways Americans live, work and play.”

See, Texas isn’t all guns and cattle drives after all.

According to this GamePro story, Microsoft is suing DHL after the carrier allegedly lost 21,600 360 consoles in a Texas train derailment.

The Xboxes were en route from a Microsoft office in McAllen, Texas, to Long Beach, California, for eventual delivery to Hong Kong at the time of the loss, which occurred on October 13, last year, according to court papers.

Flextronics Industrial in Hong Kong was the intended recipient.

More through the link.

How completely embarrassing. According to this Gamespot piece, opening E3 keynote speaker and Texan Governor, Rick Perry, spoke this morning to an audience of less then 30 people.

Perry apparently spoke at length about how great Texas is as a home for developers. The report makes it sound scintillating.

Entertainment Software Association president Michael Gallagher warmed the crowd up with a bit of biographical background on Perry, then introduced a video clip featuring some of the biggest names in Texas’ game development community: Junction Point Studios head Warren Spector, BioWare’s Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel, and NCsoft’s Starr Long. The four developers talked about the reasons to make games in Texas, from the talent pool to the cost of living and lack of income tax.

“I think they need to know that Texas rocks,” Walton explained. “Texas is a great place to make games.”

Not cool, ESA.

id announced QuakeCon 2008 last night, which is now confirmed to be running from July 31 to August 3 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

As well as hosting the biggest LAN party in America, the event will see exhibits from more than 60 developers. In addition, you get to see John Carmack talk space-speak, and that won’t happen forever, so get it while you can.

We know someone that made the effort to get there last year and loved every second: QuakeCon really is supposed to be worth it, so do consider the trip, journo types.

Press release after the link.

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