AustLit

The Australia video game industry has developed games for an international market since the late 1970s (Game Masters). Beam Software, also known as Melbourne House, was a pioneer within the industry, gaining international success with their 1982 adaptation of The Hobbit (Melbourne House). The studio acted as a catalyst for the Australian industry’s development. Over a decade after Beam Software’s launch, former Beam developers Trevor Nurdin and Bill McIntosh established Tantalus Interactive and Torus Games in 1994, respectively (Wolf 223). Consequently, former employees of both Tantalus Interactive and Torus Games then established a plethora of video game studios in the 1990s and early 2000s (Wolf 223), including Firemint in 1999 and Virtual Mechanix in 2001. Other influential companies include Auran established in 1995, Krome Studios in 1999 and Creative Assembly in 2002 (Wolf 224). The graph below illustrates the industry links between Australian video game studios.

Since 2006, six high profile Australian studios have closed, including THQ, Visceral Games and Bondi Team in 2011, and Pandemic Studios in 2009. Krome Studios became inactive in 2010, relieving all employees, before reopening in 2012. The high Australian dollar and the increased cost of video game technologies are deemed the main contributors towards the industry’s collapse (Miller 1). Despite this recession, there are presently over 120 Australian video game production companies (Game Developers Association), producing approximately $100 million worth of video games each year (Digital games industry). Australian companies are collaborating with international games publishers such as Electronic Arts, Vivendi universal and Sony, or producing niche independent projects (Digital games industry). While Australia’s industry cannot be considered an international hub, the success of large-scale studios such as Krome Studios Melbourne, Auran, and Tantalus Interactive have granted the industry significant international recognition (Wolf 224). Employing nearly 2000 staff, Krome Studio Melbourne became Australia’s largest independent game developers in 2006, gaining international success for the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger series (Wolf 224).

A number of Australian studios have designed successful video game adaptations of films and literature. Torus Games has developed copious film adaptations, including a Game Boy adaptation of Stargate in 1994, The Lion King for Game Boy Color in 2000, Minority Report in 2002, and Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game in 2012 (Torus). Krome Studios has produced adaptations of Men in Black 2 and Transfomers, and Blue Tongue Entertainment developed the successful Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis video game in 2003 (Digital games industry).