DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development Director, Crystal Palmer, returned from the annual E3 Expo in Los Angeles this week optimistic about the District’s future to attract the video gaming industry to our nation’s capital. Palmer held successful meetings with executives from Sony, Nintendo America, and organizations like the Independent Game Developers Association and IndieCade, which are considered to be the video game industry’s Sundance.
“Our technology sector is growing and has the potential to draw a broad array of tech-related firms to us, including video-game developers,” Mayor Vincent C. Gray said. “DC is an appealing city to the creative types who run and staff these firms, and we are looking to the tech sector to form a core component of the diversified new economy we are building here in the nation’s capital.”
In Palmer’s discussions with the Entertainment Software Association, a national association that serves the business and public affairs interests of companies that publish video and consumer games, executives considered a futuristic “DC – Digital City” highly viable, given the city’s infrastructure that would be necessary to compete in this lucrative area of the entertainment business. Palmer also plans to conduct follow-up meetings with executives from Maryland-based Bethesda Softworks, Sony and other companies that attended the E3 Expo.
“The interactive entertainment industry is particularly compelling and relevant to the DC Tech Incentive,” stated Director Palmer. “Companies like IndieCade, are an excellent vehicle for local game developers to promote and distribute their work.”
The meetings in Los Angeles provided an avenue to present promotional material and discuss ways in which the District’s workforce can be included in the overall video gaming industry. Palmer’s discussions included ideas for integrating the local talent pool into mainstream gaming groups and devising a plan to nurture and develop their skills.
The interactive entertainment industry now rivals the revenue-generating potential of the motion picture industry and other more traditional delivery platforms for creative and entertainment content. The District is poised to leverage its creative talent, equipment and facilities to attract digital media to the nation’s capital.