Jacobson: "Still a lot of work to do" to get games industry properly recognised

Sports Interactive boss Miles Jacobson has said that there's "still a lot of work to do" in terms of getting the games industry the recognition it deserves, both "in the business world, and in education".

"It's frustrating to still be in the stage of the industry still being blamed for lots of things in the same way as rock and roll was, or even the waltz back in the day," Jacobson said in an interview with The Guardian.

"It is still the case for many publications and commentators that 'games are evil,' but it's just another form of entertainment, and I don't personally get the difference between violent films, books, music or games.

"If one of them is bad, all of them should be. Which would mean most Shakespeare books wouldn't be able to be taught in schools any more."

He went on to add: "The government does recognise gaming, as did the previous government, as they've seen tax revenues from the industry go up.

"But there's still a lot of work to do there, in the business world, and in education – working in games is still not seen as a career choice by many schools, which is sad and something we need to change, particularly to help ensure that people get the relevant skills they need, such as maths, physics, art and animation."

Jacobson was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List, for which he told VG247 at the time the recognition was "important" for the industry.