Quebec's Video Game Industry Is A Timebomb
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- The formula that Quebec used to build it’s gaming industry is being copied around the world. Can we hope to survive against our competition's deep pockets and low wages? If we try will we just end up losing the industry and a lot of money while we are at it? Or, is there a better way?
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Keep up the uploads and your channel will explode! Great content!
I worked in games in Montreal in 2018 and there was endless work for Germans. Suddenly no "PTO" and nothing. Basically, they ripped off temporary visa holders, new PRs and new Canadians. It ended up very stressful. I just moved to MTL back then and needed to socialize in MTL, make new friends and do more than just work there and they put me into the late shift. In the end, they let me go, my visa was not long enough and everything was a mental distress. I earned something like in the 10k $ Canadian and then the Québécois government made me pay some 400 $ Canadian back in taxes.
In the retrospective: Being and working in Quebec as a German was a wild experience. I still miss Montreal fully hearted. So many people won't make that experience, who are coming to Canada to work in the games industry.
It was strange to be in a room with a lot of nationalities and work very late and receive work emails in French and in English. Then speaking English all evening long, like an English island in the second largest French city. It eventually opened up doors for me though in my home country.
Addendum: It would be a nice place to work, if they didn't toss out talent that quickly. They are also underpaying "skilled" people (per definition of the NOC at least NOC B)... It is a shame.
The purpose of R&D tax credits is to try and keep highly skilled workers in Canada because far too many move to the US where they'd taxed more favourably.
Whether that's worth it and whether it's being well implemented are up for debate, but that's the reason they exist.
Good video. 9:41 I don't get subsidies being given to animal agriculture in countries with public health care as the government than has to pay more money to treat the heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, food poisoning etc associated with eating meat.
totally had red alert and Warcraft 2 music I love it. I literally am one of those people moving to Montreal for more VFX work cause its growing so fast and Vancouver is kinda full. I went to a career fare thing back in 2019, and they told me strait up, if can go to Montreal do it cause everyone is moving there. And so here I am and will be there in a couple weeks.
It's always good to know the numbers I'm reading line up with reality. I'm doing so many VFX these days I'm starting to feel like I'm in the industry too.
21:55 That's my laptop. haha
Yeah when I was trawling through b-roll and saw that Laptop I thought "I don't know what 'it' is, but that laptop there has it"
@@PaigeMTL that laptop has seen things...
such negativity....got anything good to say instead?
Came to your channel for the MTL content, knowing nothing about the video game industry. I really really really hate corporate welfare, and I think that your video is super well made and thought out. Provides real, actionable solutions to the possible ticking time bomb that Montreal has on its hands with this industry!
Your outside perspective on Canada is so crucial. Keep up the good work and you will be a large channel very soon.
By the way, I watched more videos and realized Paige is not even close to being an outsider to Canada, having been in the country for well over a decade. So I thought about how I could revise my comment. Nonetheless, I appreciate the external perspective that Paige provides. Looking forward to more videos about Quebec.
As someone currently studying video games and looking to start a small coop studio with friends at some point, another problem with the subsidies is that they favour those who've had subsidies before. I've heard from another coop that it's much easier to get funds from the CMF if you've had funds from them before and stuff like that. It's especially frustrating that while yes, the games Ubisoft makes are big and impressive on a technical level, they're not usually the best narratively, design-wise or content-wise. Indie studios usually make smaller games, but they actually feel good and can be closer to pieces of art than whatever rehashed thing the big studios do. I think we'll see more and more smaller studios open, and they might fare better because of lower operating costs and stuff like that. Glad to see you mentioned them! Ubisoft innovated a lot with new IPs back then, but not that much anymore. Sure, they create new IPs from time to time, but a lot of them follow the same formula of being a big open-world with fill-in quests/collectibles and having to unlock the map with "towers" or stuff like that. In any case, I totally agree that we should focus a lot more on original content than on porting and related developments.
Also, regarding education, as far as I know the UQAT is (currently anyways) one of the best in the world. I've talked with HR people from French studios who know about UQAT and have told me it has a great reputation (which is great news for me haha). I'd love to see more college-level video game programs though, and not only focused on programming and art (as it seems to be the case with a lot of programs). Video game design is not taught as much as these two are and I think it's a shame really. IIRC Chasing Rats was started by 3 UQAT graduates too!
NB: As a random sidenote, despite how big the industry is, a lot of people seem to know each other. Lots of my professors (or lecturers would be more accurate) either are working in the industry of have worked in it. One of them also founded the Guilde du jeu vidéo and the MIGS festival (and you showed one of his games at some point I think haha)
Nice video, I loved this one.
Infographics and b-roll were spot on.
Are there working examples of sunset clauses on subsidy programs?
Lots of subsidies get sunset, but they're not usually a predictable progression from the start of a business. Usually the subsidy just abruptly ends for the whole industry after a decade, like the solar subsidies in the US this year.
I'm glad i found your channel! So informative and well done! Good job !!
Great video addressing an issue we need to talk about more!
Great video. Do you think the income tax paid by the employees of the studios helps offset the subsidies ?
Absolutely and the same applies for any tax, if that guy at gameco takes that larger salary and buys a celebratory steak dinner some of that gets back to the government too in QST. In fact the result of the subsidies for many gaming industry workers is kind of like they just don't pay income tax. The problem is that if the government were to give a video game industry deal to everyone (or the industry continued to grow rapidly for decades) the government would be beyond bankrupt. Income taxes are by far the largest source of government revenue in Quebec.
I do disagree with the framing, the tax credits for employing the workers was a pretty visionary idea. I'm seeing the world through my kids eyes, the film industry is going the way of newspapers. This brought high paying jobs to montreal, it takes decades to build up what Quebec did it's just not going to disappear overnight
Merci , I love your videos :)
Red Alert theme music ftw!
Boy, does Legault realize that the video game industry is basically English?
Like the vast majority of people, you don't seem to know a thing about 'péréquation', so instead of feeding division and the impression of being undeserving of equalization payments, do you research properly. equilization payments exists because as an tertiary, exporting economy such as Québec and Ontario, our economies are negatively affected by the exploitation of tar sand in Alberta by increasing the value of our currency, therefore affecting our exports. I believe Alberta should compensate for its 'single-basket' approach of their economy affecting ours.The second major component, of the equalization payments system is the power of taxation, Quebecois can't be taxed much more than it is so if the other provinces want more equalization payments, they should get their constituants to payment their fair share of taxes in the first place and if they're still not happy, they simply didn't have to rig and steal the 95 referendum.
The primary reason for equalization payments is not to help provinces whose exports have been hurt by a high Canadian Dollar.
@@PaigeMTL believe what you may, but, it is still part of the calculus, like the power of taxation, among others.
To avoid the wrath and ridicule of the neckbeards, it's pronounced Id not I.D. software. Freud's Id that is
Government ruins everything.
If it cared about its citizens then it would have allowed competition instead of allowing oligopolies to steal all the money of hard working individuals and provide the worst service and pricing in all of the "developed" world.