"In a world first, the Victorian Government decided last year to grease the wheels of the state's game development industry by striking a $250,000 deal with Sony, and later Microsoft's Xbox, to provide free access to a dozen of the company's highly prized and expensive development kits.
The idea was to help local games companies turn ideas into action.
Less than a year down the track, a multi-million dollar deal has been struck between Melbourne-based games outfits IR Gurus and thatgame and a major US software distribution company to distribute Heroes of the Pacific.
Developed entirely in Melbourne, the World War II Pacific theatre flight sim is the first title to emerge from the government's joint alliance with Sony and the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA).
The deal is seen as helping not only to entrench Victoria's solid international reputation as a producer of world-class video and computer games but also to open new opportunities around the world.
And it has helped to create 25 Melbourne-based jobs.
When new technology such as PS3 comes along, we would like to see that made available to developers as well."