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EA and Take-Two talk about Trump's policies affecting games

Policies on immigration, education, and trade have had a knock-on effect.

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During the Industry Insights panel at the Games for Change Festival 2017 event, Craig Hagen, global head of government affairs at Electronic Arts, and Alan Lewis, vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Take-Two, talked about how US president Donald Trump's policies influence the US game industry.

According to them, there are three main areas that have to be changed in order to help the industry grow again: immigration, education, and trade. Due to high taxes, "the cost of doing business here in the United States has grown significantly," according to Lewis, who referred to the taxation of international business.

Also, Trump's ban on a number of countries such as Iran and Syria has made the visa situation in the US difficult, expensive, and cumbersome on top of this, which is one of the main reasons why fewer immigrants are interested in working in the US. "Immigration continues to be a significant issue for companies like ours and the industry at large," said Alan Lewis. It has also become even more difficult for companies to keep these workers in the states, and as a result "there is a constant shortage of qualified, high-skilled labour within our industry," as Hagen explains.

Broadband penetration in rural areas and budget cuts for education are two more concerns for US companies, although this isn't to do with Trump's policies necessarily. Do you agree with all the sentiments expressed here, and what do you think needs to happen to ensure the games industry remains at full health?

EA and Take-Two talk about Trump's policies affecting games

Source: Polygon.



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