Conference Call

As the Game Developers Conference enters its 20th year, the organisers are gearing up for the biggest event yet. More than 12,500 visitors are expected to attend GDC 2007, which will take place in San Francisco from March 5 - 9.

The event is likely to attract more attention than ever following the announcement that E3 is being downsized. GamesIndustry.biz talked to GDC organiser Jamil Moledina about the implications of the ESA's decision, and how the plans for next year's conference are coming together.

Jamil Moledina: If size matters, technically it will be the largest one. We have literally outgrown San Jose, where we were last year. We had situations where people couldn't get into the sessions of their choice, standing room only, people couldn't get hotel rooms... Moving back to San Francisco gives us much more breathing room, and we're also expanding the facility we occupy.

Our largest sessions rooms have increased from 600 to 1000 capacity, and we have two main showrooms now. There's a great deal of growth that's happening in the industry that's driving us to expand the show in this way - however, we're very conscious of how we grow, and maintaining the balance that allows learning and sharing to take place.

We're trying to create a distinction between the two halls. West Hall is the traditional GDC must-see expo floor where all the major companies are revealing their tools and technology. Our second show floor is positioned as a community hall where you can explore emerging and experimental technologies in this more relaxed atmosphere.

We are growing, but not for growth's sake. We're matching what the industry is pointing us toward.

How much of the speaker line-up is still to be confirmed?

Quite a bit of it, actually. We have this invitation process that goes through to the end of the year to finalise the latest and greatest sessions for the show, and of course all of our keynotes confirm through this period too.

Has GDC's profile grown following the announcement that E3 is being downsized?

I think so. I think there's been a lot more attention focused on GDC; I think a lot of the companies that exhibited in Kentia were not necessarily of the ESA constituency, and are looking very closely at reallocating their E3 budget to GDC.

What doesn't make sense to me is the idea that E3 en masse is going away - because as far as I'm concerned, the new E3 is the new E3. They're continuing to develop their event for a narrower audience - for 5000 people - and there are additional players in the market who have participated in E3 and are contacting us.

We're not trying to say that everyone who loves E3 should consider GDC; in fact, of all the event companies putting out press releases around the ESA's announcement, we were the ones who strained to say, 'We're not the new E3.'

Do you think the ESA made the right descision?

It's hard for me to really assess that, because I don't know all the factors that went into that decision. From talking to some of the major publishers, and Doug Lowenstein, it seems like all the parties are moving in the right direction for their specific needs.

I really get the sense that Doug and team are focusing down on the core competency of what E3 was designed to be, and the needs for the particular market that it serves.

I think that's a really good lesson for us all, to take stock in what we're doing and see what is our core value. In GDC's case it's making sure every single individual developer takes learning, inspiration, and networking from GDC.

Since we are focused on creating the best value for the conference attendees, everything else is a logical progression from that. As that is our priority, we focus on the conference content - on making sure that the editorial quality is as high as it can be, that it has the breadth and detail that it needs to have - and then all of the other elements click through and fall into place. Whereas a large expo must cater to the needs of its primary exhibitors as its main function.

Are you going to expand GDC Mobile in the same way?

It is growing of its own accord. Every single aspect of GDC is benefiting from the expansion. Mobile is a very interesting area, because we're seeing more and more mainstream console and PC developers participating in the process.

There's a lot of talk about how much potential for growth there is for the mobile industry, with some really quite huge predictions being bandied about. How accurate do you think those predictions are?

I don't know. I think you have to expect a certain amount of puffery in an emerging industry, that there is going to be a bit of hyperbole. It's born from a kernel of truth, so I actually kind of agree with it.

On a handset, games still play second fiddle to ringtones, and other little snippety bits of video and audio. Most of these wonderful ideas about the expansion of the mobile industry are hinged on 'X' many 3G handsets being in the marketplace, so since everyone has the platform, everyone will be buying and playing these games.

There's an optimistic assumption in there and I'm not sure that the consumer adoption is right where the rosy predictions are. However, it's definitely expanding. We're seeing a lot of mobile publishers provoking the creativity of mobile developers, we're seeing carriers get much more involved in this, as a distinguishing factor for their deck.