eSports, 'next gaming decade,' and China talks added to GDC Next

Game Developers Conference Next organizers have added new talks to the event's Business & Marketing discipline, with veteran Starr Long (pictured) on 'Nine Trends For The Next Decade Of Video Games', ESL organizer Turtle Entertainment on the eSports ecosystem, and Niko Partners' market research on China and Southeast Asia. GDC Next is the spiritual successor to GDC Online. The new event aims to highlight the future of video games, and will take place alongside the App Developers Conference on November 5th-7th, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Starr Long will draw from his 20 years of industry experience, from project director of Ultima Online to now executive producer of the $2.3 million crowd-funded Shroud of the Avatar, to propose 'Nine Trends For The Next Decade Of Video Games.' In this talk, Long will explore how trends like 3D printing and wearable tech can change the way we make and consume games -- and how said trends will combine with each other to produce even more drastic changes down the line. Turtle Entertainment's VP of gaming communities David Hiltscher will explain the ins and outs of the eSports (professional competitive games) industry in a talk called 'Inside the eSports Ecosystem; A Business Overview.' Hiltscher, who oversees the ESL eSports leagues, will use his work with companies like Riot Games (League of Legends) and Wargaming (World of Tanks) to discuss how the eSports ecosystem works, who the major players are, and how big it has become. Lastly, in 'Forecast of the Future of Games in China & Southeast Asia,' Lisa Hanson of market research group Niko Partners will share some of the information they have found from analyzing the past eleven years' worth of market research data on the Chinese games industry. The research will forecast how China's growing smartphone user base and the rise of web games as a viable platform are poised to affect China's $10 billion games industry --and how China's trends are already extending into Southeast Asian markets. The first lectures from the show, announced last month, include Google on the first year of its Play service, thatgamecompany on its design philosophy and future, Disney on theme park design lessons for game developers, and Adam Orth on reforming toxic online behavior. More talks will be announced leading up to the November event. Registration is now open for GDC Next and the co-located ADC. The first 500 attendees who sign up can save over 30% on ADC, GDC Next, or a combined VIP Pass. For all the latest news on GDC Next, subscribe for updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech.