‘Father of Playstation’ named Malta special envoy for digital games

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech today presided over the signing of the investment agreement between US firm TRC Family Entertainment and Malta Enterprise in the presence of TRC Family Entertainment chairman Chris Deering and Paul Taylor, and Malta Enterprise executive chairman Alan Camilleri.

"The government's strategy to develop new niche, high value-added jobs is being vindicated today with the establishment of TRC Family Entertainment Limited, a company led by a world-class management team and which shall develop a fully fledged digital game ready for launch in the US market in 24 months' time," Fenech said.

TRC Family Entertainment Ltd, led by former Sony Europe president Chris Deering, is expected to generate around 100 new jobs over the coming two years.

Nine persons, including some of the big names in the field, have already been recruited and relocated to Malta for this purpose, while additional recruitment shall be done in the coming weeks for a wide range of positions including programmers, game designers, animators, artists and writers.

TRC Family Entertainment Limited shall have a staff complement to over 20 by the end of the year.

The company is investing over $6 million in Malta and shall also be relocating the intellectual property, which is estimated to cost around $18 million. In addition, Malta Enterprise shall be co-investing and shall have a representation on the Board of Directors of TRC Family Entertainment Limited.

TRC Family Entertainment Ltd will create an online multimedia company to develop and promote a new children's entertainment concept with the hope of uniting children and families worldwide through the company's unique brand.

While the core part of the project shall be the development of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) which could be accessed by thousands of users online, the company will also be working on additional initiatives that would be developed in conjunction with the game development, thereby creating a stronger brand and in so doing generate other job opportunities with TRC.

"Government during the last two years has been very keen on supporting this sector as it represents the next-level development of the success the country has had in establishing itself as an ICT location. The Digital Games industry is, therefore, a key component within the creative industry in Malta is one of the fastest growing media sectors globally."

Through this agreement Malta Enterprise will be co-investing in TRC Family Entertainment Limited, owning 15% shareholding.

In 2011 the global games market stood at $74 billion, an increase of 10.4% over the previous year, and it is set to top $100 billion by 2015.

Provisional analysis on the Digital Games Strategy for Malta which will be published by the end of the year shows that Malta has got raw talent but does not have the applied skills for this industry.

Fenech stressed that the digital gaming sector could be built into a sustainable economic activity in Malta. "As a matter of fact, Malta Enterprise is supporting TRC Family Entertainment Limited through on-the-job training and also bursaries which shall go to a local training institution following negotiations done by TRC and a local institution. In doing so, we are ensuring that local Maltese talent is grown and nurtured paving the way for more projects to flow into Malta on the basis of this experience."

Fenech also announced that Chris Deering will be appointed Special Envoy for the Digital Gaming Industry in Malta.

Deering was the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe between 1995 and 2005, when the company successfully launched its PlayStation range in Europe.

He also served as CEO Sony Electronics Europe in 2004 - 2005 and has been Chairman of the Edinburgh Interactive Festival since 2005.  He also served in London as Director of European marketing for Gillette Corp.  He is known in the digital games industry as the 'father of PlayStation'.

Paul Taylor was the CEO of Jetix Europe 2004 - 2009.  He was also General Manager Movies and Pay-per-view for BSkyB between 1998 and 2003.  He also served on the Board of Disney Europe.