630 professionals attend from over 20 countries.
With the second GC Asia coming to a close, the organizers of GC Asia Conference announced that more than 630 international professionals from the game industry attended the two-day long conference in Singapore. Attendees came from over 20 nations, mostly from the Asia-Pacific region to learn, network, and create new partnerships within the games industry. More than 70 industry experts discussed prominent topics of today's game industry, focusing on online and casual games, as well as outsourcing.
Wolfgang Marzin, president and CEO of the Leipziger Messe, said, "GCAC clearly serves the needs, not just of the Asian market, but also of the global market. Industry representatives from the US, Europe and naturally, the Asia-Pacific region participated in the conference, exchanged ideas and created new visions for the future gaming market."
Jorg Zeissig, Managing Director of Leipziger Messe International (LMI), added, "With the second GCAC in Singapore, we are seeing the industry take advantage of the opportunity to meet and talk about the latest game developments. We certainly catered to the demand of the industry by focusing on key topics like Online, Outsourcing and Micro-Transactions."
Speakers at GCAC 2008 included Michael de Plater (Ubisoft, China), Peter Molyneux (Lionhead Studios, UK), Cevat Yerli (Crytek, Germany), Joonmo Kwon (Nexon Corp/Nexon Mobile, South Korea), Henry Jenkins III (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Mario Wynands (Sidhe Interactive, New Zealand), Sean Kauppinen International Digital Entertainment Agency, USA), Tom Crago (Tantalus, Australia), Allan Simonsen (Boomzap/IGDA, Singapore), Don Daglow (Independent, USA), James Gray (EA Mobile, UK), Tom Felices (Nordic Game Program, Sweden), Melissa Lee (Massive Black, USA), Alexander Fernandez (Streamline Studios, Netherlands), Peter Paul Gadi (Anino Mobile, Philippines), Bob Wallace (Strategic Alternatives, USA), Feargus Carroll (Lucasfilm, Singapore), Keith Liu (Nokia, Singapore), Jason Della Rocca (IGDA, Canada), Gary Mi (Radience, China), Ragnar Tornquist (Funcom, Norway), Arne Peters (cdv Entertainment , Germany), Michel Kripalani (Autodesk, USA), Garett Wiley (798 Group, China), Chris Natsumme (Boomzap, Singapore), Maxime Villandre (Codemasters, Malaysia), Kok Khwang Ng (Asiasoft, Singapore) and more.
The next GCAC will take place in Singapore from September, 17-19, 2009.Quotes from the Speakers
Michael de Plater (Ubisoft) said, "I have never been to it before. This my first experience. For exchanging ideas, exchanging best-practice, it's really valuable."
Peter Molyneux (Lionhead Studios) said, "The important thing is when you start to think about how western developers are going to be developing products for the Asian market and the Asians developing products for the West than a conference like this is a good starting point."
Jon Niermann (Electronic Arts) said, "We've been here for two years now, and I think it's really important -- I think we all do -- that there's a pan-Asian conference, and this is it. We support it, we hope the rest of the industry does, and they do a good job with it. It's growing, and we're here with a big presence."
Mario Wynands (Sidhe Interactive) said, "GCA 2008 was a great follow up to the inaugural event last year. The conference is well positioned to help shape and consolidate the Asia Pacific development community into the future."
Feargus Carroll (Lucasfilm) said, "GCAC this year is bigger than last year and it has great mix of youth and the experienced from across the video games industry."
Alexander Fernandez (Streamline) said, "The GCA has made tremendous gains in providing a central, cohesive, platform for knowledge sharing within Asia-Pacific. I look forward to its continued success."
Garret Wiley (798 Group) said, "It's great. It is my second year attending, and first year speaking at GC Asia Conference and I am pretty impressed by the attendance and quality of speakers. In addition, GCA will be an effective matchmaking platform for the video game industry."
About Games Convention Asia / GC Asia ConferenceGames Convention Asia (GCA) is the "Digital Media Gateway of Asia." Described as the only event in the Asia-Pacific region enabling the interactive entertainment and digital media industries to network and interact with publishers, developers, distributors and corporate clients while showcasing their latest products and services to the public, GCA serves as the platform for Asian publishers, developers and distributors to present their work on an international level. The conference also acts as an entryway for companies seeking to enter the Asian interactive entertainment market. GC Asia and GC Asia Conference on the internet: www.gc-asia.sg.
