Mr General Delegate of the Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo, dear Julien Villedieu,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
I am very pleased to be here today to present this new edition of the annual video game barometer in France.
Thank you, dear Oskar Guilbert, for welcoming us to DONTNOD Entertainment. I have always found the work of developers, screenwriters, graphic designers and video game designers to be exciting. This is a rare opportunity to follow him closely and I am very grateful to you for opening your doors. I must say that I was very impressed during my visit by the aesthetics of Vampyr: this immersion in the darkness of London at the beginning of the 20th century, at the time of the Spanish flu is prodigious. This cultural, creative, aesthetic video game, which often relies on a long documentary work, or on exchanges with academics, is precisely the one I want to promote and to which I am very attached. I could probably say the same about Life is Strange, of which the 5e I hope that this will be a success.
For French video game companies, this success is just the thing. The barometer of the Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo mentions it – thanks to Julien Villedieu for having presented it to us: your study is every year more accurate, and therefore every year more precious for all those, and I am one of them, who are very interested in the future of this creative industry.
Yes, the success is definitely there for the video game, which now ranks second in cultural industries, just behind the book: the CNC said that in 2015, the turnover of the sector should reach €3.8 billion in France.
The dynamism of the sector, and it is to be welcomed, creates jobs every year. In video games, employment is a quality job: two thirds of employees in the sector are on permanent contracts. This is a sign of confidence in the future of the sector and its potential, of course. But it’s also proof that companies can rely on high-level technicians and creators, whose skills are recognized, and let’s face it, no one wants to see them go. We are fortunate to have in France very high quality training in this area, such as the National School of Digital Interactive Media and Gaming [ENJMIN], backed by the CNAM and which celebrated its tenth anniversary last year, or SUPINFOGAME and ISAR, not to mention those provided at the University, as in Lyon.
The success of video games in France, we owe it of course to companies whose international reputation is well established, and whose games are famous. But we also owe it – and most importantly – to a strong and diverse network of start-ups, including DONTNOD Entertainment. Most of them are in Ile-de-France, which makes Greater Paris one of the major hubs of video games on the continent.
We also owe this success to the priority you gave to creation: three quarters of the companies in the sector are developers, compared to 60% in Europe. 80% of current projects are new projects. This is proof that France is innovative in this area. The new generations of consoles, which are themselves summaries of innovation, have opened up the possibilities. With "multi-screen", "cloud gaming" or virtual reality, there are plenty of creative opportunities. They support the growth of the sector, as well as the development of mobile games.
Finally, this success is the result of a strategy that is fairly widely shared and focused on the international market: export sales are growing.
The success of the French video game is also due to its high quality: an innovative artistic creation, a sought-after aesthetics, improved graphics, a deeper and deeper narrative, and games increasingly enriched with historical or cultural content.
All this is the mark of your talent and know-how. It is also the mark of a global strategy that works, the one that we carry at your side, and that today allows France to be in the top trio of the most attractive countries in the field, just behind the United States and Canada. We have put measures in place to do that.
I am thinking, of course, of the video game tax credit, which makes it possible to deduct 20% of expenses incurred on projects that contribute to French and European diversity and creation. The government’s decision to expand it in 2014 to include adult games, which are classified as 18+ by the PEGI system, has helped attract or relocate innovative and ambitious storytelling projects to our territory. Its effectiveness is clear: nearly €50m of investments have been relocated to France.
Thanks to an even more demanding scale system, cultural criteria will also be put forward. Video games are a major part of our cultural industries. And with him, beyond the highly qualified jobs of computer engineering and programmer, many artistic jobs are attached to him: draftsmen, designers, graphic designers, modelers, musicians, screenwriters…
This policy of support that we are conducting, I believe it essential to be at your side in the face of the challenges that await you. Julien Villedieu mentioned them. You must first face the structural changes induced by dematerialisation, which has direct consequences on players' expectations and on the marketing of games. This forces you to constantly adapt, in an increasingly competitive context, where new entrants are creative but also fragile.
The support fund for video games supported by the CNC and Bercy can provide answers, since it finances pre-production, and since 2010 supports the creation of intellectual properties. It thus encourages companies to retain their rights and to better structure the activity.
I’m also aware of the challenge you face in accessing funding. I know that production studios are having trouble attracting financial institutions. As a result, their investments are often self-financing, which makes them all the more fragile because it deprives them of both medium-term financial visibility and means of promotion and dissemination of the games.
Faced with this challenge, the State is at your side. It is with the tax credit; it is also with the Institut pour le financement du cinéma et des industries culturelles. In fact, IFCIC has set up a guarantee fund for video games. It also manages, in partnership with the Caisse des Dépôts, a fund of advances repayable to companies of the animated image and the digital. The video game sub-fund, already endowed with €5 million, should be subscribed by €15 million very soon by the CDC. It will be able to lend up to €2 million in equity advances to companies in the sector over one or two years. It should also contribute to better structuring the activity, by giving priority to those who carry international development projects. For video games, this is something that is indispensable.
In a few words, this is what I remember from this new edition of the barometer: France is strong in its talents and creativity. It is strong of all those who create, innovate and promote a quality video game on its territory. The government will continue to stand with you for years to come because it believes in you. He believes in your ability to create jobs and promote France and French culture.
Thank you.