E-games: come in spinner

The electronic games industry knows that university courses such as those at RMIT, QUT and Bond University, are packed to the gunnels with students studying gaming (programing and scripting), who have no hope in hell of getting a job in Australia. Between them, they currently have about 400 students enrolled in game-type programs.

In fact the Australian electronic games industry is in serious trouble. Last year saw the closure of Melbourne's Blue Tongue, Brisbane's THQ Australiastudios as well and Team Bondi studios.

These closures threw hundreds of people out of work. Before them Pandemic,Visceral Games, Transmission Games, Red Tribe, Auran, Melbourne House, Ratbag and Krome crashed. These were major gaming studios.

When KMM Brisbane shut late last year, the studio's art director, Jason Stark, "We've all expected the industry to be shrinking - it's been bad times. It's gone from being a mild contraction to being pretty much obliterated," Stark told ABC radio.

Australian game industry website Tsumea announced in 2011 that there were approximately 931 of people employed making games in Australia. Insiders put the real figure at about 700. That’s a massive drop since 2007 when the Australian Bureau of Statistics reportedthat 1431 people were employed in games development around Australia.

If you have more than 400 students enrolled in games based university courses where there are only 700 currently filled positions, you have a major problem.

That’s the real story.