GC Asia Conference Opened With Attendees From More Than 20 Countries

News by GamesIndustry International Contributor

Published on Sept. 6, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Leipzig, Germany and Singapore - September 6, 2007 - The first GC Asia Conference (GCAC) opened today, welcoming industry professionals from over 20 countries. The first day was marked by keynotes from Desmond Lu Guangyuan (Director of International Business Development, Shanda, China) and Gilles Langourieux (CEO, Virtuos, China). Until September 7, 2007, GCAC will host leading game industry visionaries and experts from the global game market across the Asia-Pacific region, North America, and Europe. The conference is being held alongside the GC Asia exhibition, September 6-9, 2007, at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center.

GC Asia was officially opened today by Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Second Minister for Information, Communication, and the Arts. Welcoming speeches were also given by the organizers, Edward Liu, Managing Director, Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS), and Wolfgang Marzin, president and CEO of the Leipzig Trade Fair.

"Singapore is the gateway to the booming Asian-Pacific market, and opens up exciting new opportunities for the global games industry. Under the motto 'Understanding Asia: Opportunities to the World,' GC Asia is helping to make this market more transparent for international companies and developers to build bridges in many directions," said Wolfang Marzin at the official opening ceremony.

Frank Sliwka, Project Director for GCDC, commented, "Within the GCAC program, truly renowned speakers discuss all of the relevant industry issues of the Asia-Pacific games market. Our main objective is to provide an environment for game developers and publishers from around the globe to network."

Bob Wallace (Strategic Alternatives, USA) took part in the business development panel on the first day of the conference. "The games business is a fast-growing entertainment market with participants from all nations. Asia, however, is the fastest growing part of this market, and many new world-class games companies are expected to emerge from Asia. GCA promises to be the first truly pan-Asian games conference showcasing game products and companies, and it is not to be missed by those who look toward the future," said Wallace.

On Friday, September 7, the final day of GCAC, Steve Schnur (Worldwide executive of Music and Marketing, Electronic Arts, USA) will deliver a keynote at the conference. Schnur said, "I am proud to be a part of GCAC 2007 and am looking forward to sharing experiences and exchanging ideas with developers and publishers from all over the world. The future of the industry is in our hands. Together, I believe that we can change the way the game is played."

Additional speakers at GCAC include Allan Simonsen (Technical Director, Boomzap/IGDA, Singapore), Rajesh Rao (Dhruva, India), Christopher Thompson (Vice President/GM Asia, Electronic Arts), Chris Natsuume (CEO, Boomzap, Singapore), Joonmo Kwon (CEO, Nexon Corp/Nexon Mobile, South Korea), Bob Bates (Freelancer, USA), Alexander Fernández (CEO, Streamline Sudios, Netherlands), Arne Peters (COO, CDV, Germany), and Keith Liu (Head of Games and Location-Based Experiences, Nokia, Singapore) among others.

GCAC is fully supported by the GC Developers Conference (GCDC), Europe's leading conference for game developers, and is organized by Leipziger Messe International (LMI) and the Conference and Exhibition Management Services (CEMS).

About GC Asia/GC Asia Conference

The Games Convention Asia (GCA) is the only Convention in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region for interactive entertainment, infotainment, edutainment, hardware and technology. The fair is organized with the LMI (Leipziger Messe International GmbH), a subsidiary of the Leipziger Messe GmbH, and CEMS (Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd. Singapore). It is accompanied by the GCA Business Center, which will be utilized as a business platform equipped with internet access points, presentation technology, and catering. The concept of the Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC) is "Developing & Development," and producing the "GCA 2007 Competition." The organizer's goal is to firmly establish what will be the Asia-Pacific region's largest convention devoted to digital media, computer games, entertainment, and educational software, as well as hardware. www.gc-asia.sg

Media Contacts:

Leipziger Messe

Stephan Reiss, Press Officer

+49 (0) 341 - 678 8186

s.reiss@leipziger-messe.de

Asia Pacific

Nalini Naidu, Integrated Marketing Solutions Group

+65 96333198

nalini.naidu@imsg.sg

North America

Sean Kauppinen, Kohnke Communications

+1 415-777-4000