Friday's letters: BioWare's end should inspire a new chapter

Electronic Arts’ decision to close Edmonton’s BioWare studio marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in Alberta’s entrepreneurial history. But it need not be the end of the story.

EA’s restructuring reflects a combination of disappointing game sales, escalating development costs, intensifying competition and pressure to improve profitability following its US$55-billion privatization. Its decision to concentrate resources on fewer, more profitable franchises is understandable from a corporate perspective. But what makes financial sense in a distant boardroom may come at a considerable cost to Edmonton’s creative economy.

We should remember how BioWare began. In 1995, three University of Alberta medical graduates — Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip — had the imagination, courage and entrepreneurial spirit to venture beyond their professions and create something extraordinary. Their company became an internationally celebrated pioneer in video gaming, demonstrating that world-class creativity and technological innovation could flourish in Edmonton.

Their achievement deserves recognition and celebration. Now comes another opportunity.

I encourage BioWare’s executives, creative leaders and talented employees to see this closure as an invitation to begin again. The intellectual capital, imagination and entrepreneurial experience that built BioWare have not disappeared with EA’s corporate decision. Why not bring that talent together, attract local investors and create a new generation of independent enterprises, with Edmonton as their home?

Our universities, technology community, investors and governments should welcome and support such an initiative. Edmonton has already demonstrated that it can produce globally competitive digital enterprises. The challenge is to retain the talent, creativity and ownership that make them possible.

BioWare began as an entrepreneurial dream. Its greatest legacy could be inspiring another.

Perry Kinkaide, founder, Alberta Council of Technologies Society

Notice to Alberta separatists: You lost. Convincingly. Your attempt failed. Please go away and let the people of Alberta focus on some of the real issues facing this province without wasting further amounts of time and public money, resources that our society could have put to far better use. Don’t let the screen door hit you on the way out.

Harry MacKendrick, Edmonton

The city is looking at relieving traffic congestion in Belgravia. Poor planning and lack of foresight are as much the problem as is the increase in vehicle traffic. Specifically with respect to the intersection at 76 Avenue and 114 Street, changes made a few years ago actually caused increased congestion.

I drove through this intersection daily for years, and at one time there was a left-turn lane for westbound traffic. The city reconfigured the road to make the sidewalk wider to accommodate alternate modes of transportation, and a lane of traffic was removed. There is now a right-turn westbound lane, and the only other lane is for both left-turning and straight-through traffic. Wait times are compounded by the train, and traffic backs up for blocks. I’ve waited as long as six minutes to make a left turn at that intersection. Now I understand that to create (or rather, re-create) a left-turn lane, parking will no longer be allowed on 76 Avenue east of 114 Street.

The local councillor’s sound bite blames too many cars on the roads and not enough transit use. For his information, it would have taken an hour or more for me to take transit to work, compared to a 20-minute commute. Well, make that 26 minutes, factoring in the wait at 76 Avenue. Mr. Janz might want to look closer to city hall for the problem.

Debbie Cavaliere, Edmonton

Tuesday morning, Mayor Knack’s response to the referendum outcome: the cost estimated at $130 million could have been put to better use. This, from a Edmonton city hall administration that doesn’t blink at $100 million for bike lanes in a winter city or any other unnecessary frivolous expenditures. Infills are their way of obtaining extra tax revenue. They have even gone so far as nickel-and-diming citizens for take-out bags.

John Mitchell, Edmonton

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