RISE OF GAMING INDUSTRY

RISE OF GAMING INDUSTRY

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(Impact of excessive gaming): **

44.

Ms Joscelin Yeo asked the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts what action is his Ministry taking to balance the rise of the gaming industry with events such as the World Cyber Games (WCG) and the social effects of excessive gaming.

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: I thank the Nominated Member for her interest in the Government’s efforts to balance the rise of the gaming industry and the social effects of excessive gaming.

First, let me talk about the games industry. According to global estimates(1), the video game market in Asia-Pacific will be the fastest growing region over the next five years, with a 9.4% compounded annual growth rate, and increasing from US$15.7 billion in 2009 to US$24.7 billion in 2013.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) and the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) have been working together to position Singapore as the hub for the games industry in the Asia-Pacific region. They have supported events such as the Games Convention Asia and World Cyber Games as these provide opportunities to further develop our people in this sector and for our games companies to network and form possible collaborations with those from overseas.

Today, the local games industry comprises close to 30 home-grown game development companies such as Mikoishi and Nabi Studios, and some locally developed games have gone on to gain international recognition.

In addition, initiatives such as Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab provide avenues for Singaporeans to be engaged in areas of innovative and multi-disciplinary research projects focused on games development. "CarneyVale: Showtime", for example, was developed by a group of Singaporean students from the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, and became the first made-in-Singapore game to be published on Microsoft's XNA Community Games Channel. This is encouraging for Singapore's game industry and we look forward to more locally developed games made available to the global audience.

Whilst promoting the local games industry, the Government is also mindful of the detrimental effects of excessive gaming on youths. Education is the key in our efforts to address this issue. In schools, the topic of games addiction is covered at the primary school level and this is expanded to Internet addiction at the secondary level. The MDA works closely with the Internet and Media Advisory Committee (INMAC) to educate not just youths but also educators, parents and the general public, on the core aspects of cyber wellness. Among its efforts, MDA commissioned a Public Service programme "Once Upon a Cyberspace" to raise awareness among 10-14-year olds and their families on the importance of cyber-wellness. Community groups like the Touch Community Services also run workshops for parents to help them understand and address issues on gaming and their children.

The Inter-Ministry Cyber Wellness Steering Committee (ICSC) was established earlier this year with funding of $10 million over the next five years. Co-chaired by the Deputy Secretaries of Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) and Ministry of Education (MOE), the ICSC will coordinate the Government's efforts as well as work with the people-private sector organisations to implement a national strategy for cyber wellness public education in Singapore. Gaming addiction is one of the issues that the ICSC will look into.

(1) This is based on the report by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2009-2013.