GDC 2007 Exhibit Space Expanded Following E3 'Evolution'

The CMP Game Group (which also runs the Serious Games Source and Gamasutra websites) has announced that the 2007 Game Developers Conference will feature more than double the available floor space than previous years, as the organizers have turned San Francisco's Moscone North into a second dedicated GDC show floor. The 2007 edition of the annual event is due to take place at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center March 5-9, 2007. The organizers note that the expanded floor space was spurred by recent news concerning the shift of E3 from a large scale media showcase to a more intimate, 5,000 person media-centric event. GDC 2007, which marks the first year of GDC's long-term relocation to San Francisco, is currently anticipating more than 12,500 attendees, including more than 1,000 press members. When GDC was last in San Francisco in 2005, the show occupied the three floors of Moscone West. For GDC 07, the organizers reserved both Moscone West and Moscone North. With the Moscone West show floor virtually sold out, the organizers have now additionally secured the keynote hall in Moscone South in order to convert Moscone North into a second dedicated show floor. The new show floor will be built around a core of existing GDC expo suites and a networking lounge, surrounded by publishers, developers, outsourcers, middleware providers, peripheral companies, component companies, mobile game companies, casual game companies, serious game companies, online game companies, licensed IP holders, and international consortia. These groups will complement the existing GDC exhibitors of platform companies, tool providers, and technology providers. Vendors on the new floor also have a choice between booth space, expo suites and meeting rooms, while publishers and developers have the chance to demonstrate upcoming games in the new Game Demo Theater. "As GDC enters its 20th year, it emerges as the event with the largest gravitational pull of any other game industry-only event," said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC. "While it remains our primary goal to serve the game development community and ensure that the session-based half of GDC remains unchanged, we also believe it is time to dramatically upgrade the range of expo opportunities. The result of our expansion is that GDC becomes the natural choice for all companies in the game industry ecosystem to exhibit and conduct business." For more information regarding the 2007 Game Developers Conference, including registration information and sign-up info for the expanded floor space, interest parties can visit the event's official website.