On Tuesday, Film Wisconsin sought to remind the games industry of newly-implemented tax incentives for developers based in the state.

The incentives, which went into effect January 1 this year and apply also to film and TV companies, include a 25 percent rebate on production expenses plus a 15 percent credit for infrastructure development.

Film Wisconsin director Scott Robbe told Next-Gen in a phone interview, "Wisconsin has always said that if we"re going to put in place tax incentives for the motion picture and television industry, we should also put them in place for the videogame industry, because we really believe that it"s the industry of the future.

"[The games industry] is inherently American and is creating great new revenues for the country and the state."

Madison, Wisc. already has some notable game developers, including Raven Software (Marvel Ultimate Alliance), Human Head Studios (Prey) and new Human Head spin-off, Big Rooster.

Organizations like the University of Wisconsin and Madison Media Institute are are also training would-be game makers, as the state hopes to bring talent from within and keep it local.

The last time that the state made game-related headlines wasn"t so positive. Late last year, a Wisconsin senator proposed to tack on a 1 percent sales tax on game software and hardware. Funds from the tax would go towards rehabilitation for youth offenders, insinuating that youth crime and games are somehow linked.