With Krome's signing of the first party deal with Microsoft to do their answer to Mario Party - Viva Pi?ata: Party Animals. Jason Hill from Screenplay took the time to interview Krome CEO Robert Walsh about the deal, working with Rare, the acquisition of Melbourne House, some of Krome's current projects and thoughts about the GDAA's push for the same tax concessions enjoyed by the film industry.
I'm a fundamental believer that anything that can help the Australian industry is a good thing because it does help attract more investment, it does make it easier. But my personal perception is that I don't think it should be the driver to attract work. It's a good complement, but if you're relying on that... The real question we've got to ask ourselves is: "Has it been successful for the Australian film industry?" If it's a model that has worked, I don't think there's any problems in copying it or being on an even par. But you can talk to people in the movie industry and some will say it works, others will say it doesn't work. Bottom line is, it doesn't hurt, there's no reason why it shouldn't be in place, I just don't think you can run a business off the model.
In less than a decade Krome has grown to become Australia's largest independant studio, and the second largest in the world, with over 300 staff working at 3 studios in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Their Ty the Tasmanian Tiger franchise is the best selling Australian game ever made, selling almost 3 million units worldwide.