The British Government have responded to a petition calling for more support for British videogame developers.

Earlier this year, an official petition was set up on the UK Government's website calling for the government to "provide tax or other incentives to support the UK computer and video games industry". The petition was created due to the dwindling state of the industry in the UK, with developers such as Eidos struggling to survive in good old Blighty. N-Europe pledged their support to this petition, and the supporting signatures totalled in at an astounding 2,175. Today, the government have responded to this petition and have given their views on the situation.

"The Government takes seriously the contribution of the UK's creative industries to the economy and to the UK's cultural richness. Creative Britain - New talents for the New Economy, published earlier this year, set out the 26 commitments with which the Government would support the creative industries.

In that document, the Government committed to making sure that the creative industries, including the games sector, were aware of and made the best use of the generous Research and Development tax credits for small and medium-sized enterprises, introduced by the Government in 2000. The Government has already been promoting the credit within the industry.

The Government must be mindful of the need to ensure fair competition and value for money for tax payers whilst ensuring that any tax incentives are supported by evidence. The Government is conscious of the recent approval of a cultural tax relief for games in France and is working with the UK industry to collect and review the evidence for introducing such a credit in the UK."

What do you think of the situation? Are the Government really doing enough to support the gaming industry and to ensure that it thrives in the UK?