GC Asia 2008

Nexon boss Joonmo Kwon signed as first keynote speaker.

News by GamesIndustry International Contributor

Published on Aug. 14, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany and SINGAPORE – August 14, 2008 – The organizers of the GC Asia Conference (GCAC) today announced the first keynote speaker of this year’s conference. In his keynote entitled, “Online Game as Social Interactive Entertainment Media,” Joonmo Kwon, CEO of Nexon Corporation and Nexon Mobile, will share his extensive knowledge to give GCAC attendees insight into the online game business as today’s and future entertainment media. GCA and GCAC take place September 18-20, 2008, in Singapore at the Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore.

Joonmo Kwon has an extensive knowledge of interactive entertainment as well as the online game market and successfully runs one of the largest developers and publishers of Online PC games worldwide. Kwon was also a member of Committee of Korea Media Rating Board (currently, the Game Rating Board) as well as the Chairman of the screening committee in Korea Game Award, and is currently the President of Korea Association of Game Industry. Being a doctor of psychology, Kwon had served until 2005 the Graduate School of Education at Kyunghee University as assistant professor.

“GCAC is a platform to reach an international audience of game industry insiders as well as the growing consumer market in Singapore and Malaysia,” said Joonmo Kwon, CEO of Nexon Corporation and Nexon Mobile. “By sharing knowledge of online games as entertainment media, we hope to inspire the next generation game companies to think differently and grow the overall market worldwide.“

“GCA and the GCAC present the opportunity for regional and international developers and publishers to reach a global audience,” said Joerg Zeissig, maganging director of Leipziger Messe International GmbH (LMI). “With world class speakers like Mr. Kwon, GCAC is sure to present valuable information to attendees, and with the largest publishers and developers in the games industry presenting, GCA will let consumers play the hottest games of the season.”

“Joonmo Kwon is a veteran in the online and mobile games industries and his knowledge of online games and entertainment will be very valuable to the GCAC attendees,” said Frank Sliwka, Conference Director for GCAC. “His keynote is a great addition to the conference program, which intends to bring together industry specialists from around the globe to share their ideas and strengthen their business relationships.”

About Nexon Corporation

Nexon Corporation (CEO, Joonmo Kwon and Shin-Chul Kang), the Korean office, was founded in December, 1994, by Jung-Ju Kim, present CEO of Nexon Holdings. Having developed the first ever graphic MMORPG, “The Kingdom of the Winds,” and introduced the world to the item-selling business system through “Quizquiz” (currently, “Qplay”), Nexon has successfully established itself as the top leading game company in Korea. Nexon’s revenue alone in 2007 was around US$ 211 million, and Nexon Group as a whole US$ 302 million. As the centre and core organization for Nexon Group’s game development and service worldwide, Nexon Corporation currently services over 20 titles in Korea through its game portal ( http://nexon.com), and they include killer titles such as “MapleStory” which has over 87 million subscribers throughout the globe, “KartRider” which is well-known as the ‘national game’ in Korea for attracting more than a third of the population, “Mabinogi,” “Counter-Strike Online,” and many more. Not merely focusing on the online game sphere, Nexon is also aggressively expanding and diversifying its business into the console as well as mobile games, not to mention the animation and merchandising spaces.

About Games Convention Asia/GC Asia Conference Games 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 Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC) 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

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