Software company 1C is asking the state for 500 million rubles ($16.8 million) to create a computer game simulator that will educate youth in patriotism, modernize the economy and rebuff those trying to falsify history.
The Communications and Press Ministry and 1C have jointly prepared a proposal for the creation of a series of military game simulators, a document that was prepared for a meeting of the presidential commission for modernizing the economy on April 29, a ministry official said. It wasn't presented, but the issue was discussed, he said, adding that 1C chief executive Boris Nuraliyev had demonstrated an aviation simulator to President Dmitry Medvedev.
The project's cost is 720 million rubles, according to the presentation. The Communications and Press Ministry is asking for 500 million rubles from the government, while 1C will come up with 200 million rubles and 20 million rubles will come from the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district, which is an initiator of the project, the official said.
The development of the core of the simulator will cost $5 million to $10 million, said Sergei Orlovsky, founder of Nival Network. Each game based on that engine will run an additional $1 million to $2 million.
The project needs state financing because it aims to stimulate high-tech production and create a product for export, while at the same time using the groundwork laid by the project to create a simulator for teaching pilots.
The goal of the project is to foster a sense of patriotism in children and shut out falsifications of history, the ministry official said. The project could be approved at the next modernization commission meeting, which will be dedicated to the development of Russian video games, said an official close to the leadership of the presidential commission.
The parameters of the project and state support are still being worked out, said an official in the presidential administration. The project is now being finalized, the ministry official said.
The project is interesting, but it is unclear whether state support is needed, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said.
The project will become profitable within four years, its authors said. Sales are projected at 10 million copies, and the share of Russian games on the domestic market will grow 10 percent.
The secret to the project's success is 1C's experience in developing training simulators. The company's Il-2 Shturmovik game is one of the 25 best games ever, according to Imagine Games Network. It has been translated into 11 languages, and 1.3 million copies have been sold.
Representatives for 1C declined to comment.