GDC China Reveals Attendance Numbers, 2008 Plans

Author: by Staff

The 1st annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) China has revealed that more than 700 game professionals attended the initial event, held in Shanghai in late August and covered in some detail by Gamasutra. According to the organizers, the majority of these attendees, 70%, were from the local Chinese game industry. In addition, nearly 2,000 attendees visited the Tools Display Expo and Career Fair held in conjunction with the conference. The inaugural event was hosted by the CMP Game Group, presenters of the largest global event dedicated to video game creation, the Game Developers Conference (and owners of Gamasutra.com). The event was created in partnership with the Shanghai office of leading technology, media and events company IDG, with the support of the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People’s Republic of China (GAPAP). Plans for a 2008 conference are well underway. Support for GDC China came from top Chinese and international game companies, including Ubisoft, Nokia, Nvidia, Electronic Arts, International Games System (IGS), Wingking Entertainment, Shanda, XPEC Entertainment Inc., Epic Games China, Shanghai Zizhu, 9you, Netease, Tencent, Red 5 Studios, and Ultizen. In total, more than 30 companies participated in the Tools Display Expo and Career Fair. Content at GDC China, programmed by an advisory board comprised of representatives from the leading companies in China’s game market, offered a deep dive into the Chinese game industry, both for Chinese developers and for international industry leaders doing business in China. To this end, sessions addressed online game development and business as well as outsourcing and next-generation game creation. The conference also included mobile content and tutorials on Monday, as well as dedicated career content and sponsored sessions. “By assembling a high-caliber group of individuals with global perspective, the inaugural GDC China provided a forum to share both region specific and cross cultural lessons in game development,” said Greg Short, Director of Platform Product Management, Sony Online Entertainment, who keynoted the online track. “Moving forward, as the event grows and evolves so will the opportunity for attendees and presenters to benefit from the diversity and enthusiasm I saw in this year’s conference.”