Scottish Government not doing enough to support studios, says CobraMobile

CobraMobile MD Mark Ettle has called on the Scottish government to show more support for its local games industry following the success of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The game was developed by Rockstar North, which is based in the same city as CobraMobile.

Ettle told The Scotsman newspaper: "Whether people like Grand Theft Auto or not, it’s the biggest release of the year in the fastest growing entertainment sector and it was developed in Scotland.

"The Scottish Government should be shouting from rooftops about that. America’s always shouting about its film and production industry in Hollywood. If a small city in some other country was creating the number-one blockbuster it would be talked about."

He continued: "The Government has a huge entertainment and media business right here and it should be proud of the fact, rather than shying away from the controversy. The Government could perhaps look at more funding or tax breaks for the gaming sector."

In response, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Government is proud of Scotland’s successful games industry. We recognise its importance to the creative industries sector; that is why we continue to sponsor Dare to be Digital, the UK’s premier video games competition which encourages talented young people to join this successful, growing industry."

CobraMobile is preparing to launch a mobile version of online game Numba and is also working on Lego Batman Mobile and Lego Indiana Jones Mobile games.