Earlier this month, Mario Wynands, head of New Zealand’s largest games company, Sidhe Interactive, and also the Game Developers Association, spoke about his hopes that the forming of Peter Jackson’s and Microsoft’s Wingnut Interactive in Wellington will rekindle some interest in the gaming industry, which has nationally plummeted in recent years. He expressed the difficulty in finding programmers, and that the forming of Wingnut, with Peter Jackson at the helm, should create some local excitement again, and hopefully attract a larger intake into IT related courses in New Zealand’s education facilities. Mario Wynands stated the following:
The more visibility there is for the industry in New Zealand the easier it is to persuade people there are jobs and career opportunities locally. Having someone of the caliber of Peter and Wingnut will help encourage people to get into the right sort of education."
"It's easier to say you're a game developer from New Zealand when the person you're talking to knows other companies from New Zealand.