Creative clusters? Analysis of the video game industry in Brisbane, Australia (1980s-2014)

Abstract

This paper analyses the emergence and evolution of the video game 'hub' in Brisbane (Australia). The aim is to determine if agglomerations of video game companies have necessarily the attributes of a creative cluster. Policy implications are then discussed. The research methodology included semi-directed interviews with policy advisors and video game developers in Brisbane. It also included an analysis of the main policy documents related to the video game industry in Brisbane. The conclusion is that the video game industry for Brisbane is embedded in the technology sector and these agglomerations do not have yet the attributes of a creative cluster. The advent of new platforms based on the internet for the production of games has enabled small-scale companies to produce games successfully outside the main geographic cluster. The video game 'hub' in Brisbane has become specialised in mobile phone games. It functions more like a 'networked community' rather than as a spatially-bounded industry cluster. The paper suggests developing flexible ways to accommodate creative workers in the city when they need to be physically there. The recent spread of co-working spaces in Brisbane appears as an adequate policy answer in the context of a mid-sized city.