Will Australia be the PSP games capital of the cosmos?

In the movie “Kangaroo Jack” one of the bad guys described the continent as the “sphincter of the galaxy.” But in the video gaming world, Oz is one of the hottest places in the universe. Video games down under, according to Australian Electronic Game Profile Report rakes in about AU$ 110 million (about US$ 86 million) annually.

Those mega-digits may climb higher still with a lot of help from the PSP.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and the Game Developer’s Association of Australia (GDAA) joined forces to jump start PSP development talents down there. The two companies’ Kit-Start program plans to provide new developers access to technologies and development hardware to help them turn their concepts into games.

SCEE will take care of placing a significant number of development kits which be coordinated by the local administration with the assistance of the GDAA and the support of the Queensland and Victorian governments. Content providers will pitch their game ideas to the GDAA who will assess the concept. Green lighted applicants will then be given access to development kit, specialised design consultancy and technical support from SCEE. Hopefully, access to dev kits will help budding developers convert their ideas into prototypes. From there, upstart developers could get much needed cash from a prospective publisher.

Australia certainly has the makings of a video game powerhouse. According to GDAA stats, the continent has been developing games for the past 20 years and has generated over 200 titles. Currently, there are over 40 Aussie game development companies. With the Kit-Start programme, Oz could also be known as the PSP Games Capital of the Cosmos.

In the movie “Kangaroo Jack” one of the bad guys described the continent as the “sphincter of the galaxy.” But in the video gaming world, Oz is one of the hottest places in the universe. Video games down under, according to Australian Electronic Game Profile Report rakes in about AU$ 110 million (about US$ 86 million) annually.

Those mega-digits may climb higher still with a lot of help from the PSP.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and the Game Developer’s Association of Australia (GDAA) joined forces to jump start PSP development talents down there. The two companies’ Kit-Start program plans to provide new developers access to technologies and development hardware to help them turn their concepts into games.

SCEE will take care of placing a significant number of development kits which be coordinated by the local administration with the assistance of the GDAA and the support of the Queensland and Victorian governments. Content providers will pitch their game ideas to the GDAA who will assess the concept. Green lighted applicants will then be given access to development kit, specialised design consultancy and technical support from SCEE. Hopefully, access to dev kits will help budding developers convert their ideas into prototypes. From there, upstart developers could get much needed cash from a prospective publisher.

Australia certainly has the makings of a video game powerhouse. According to GDAA stats, the continent has been developing games for the past 20 years and has generated over 200 titles. Currently, there are over 40 Aussie game development companies. With the Kit-Start programme, Oz could also be known as the PSP Games Capital of the Cosmos.