Games Convention Asia
Encyclopedia
GCA GAMES CONVENTION ASIA is a major video game exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region. It consists of a public exhibition and a conference where the various players in the video game industry network and interact with each other, while showcasing their latest products and services to the public. Games Convention Asia serves as an entryway for companies trying to enter the Asian interactive entertainment market.
The concept behind the convention consists of four pillars: exhibition, business centre, matchmaking area, and GC Asia Conference. The GC Asia Conference allows developers and industry experts to exchange knowledge and know-how in panels and lectures and grow their international networks of business connections.
The event takes place over four days at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore
(September 17–20, 2009) and is organized by LMI Asia Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Games Convention
organizer, Leipziger Messe. In April 2008, LMI Asia Pte Ltd was founded in Singapore as an affiliate of LMI GmbH.
It was announced in March 2010 that the convention will no longer be held beginning from 2010 due to a low demand.
Students` Day & Career Fair:
The Public Exhibition:
Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC):
The theme for the Games Convention Asia is 'Inspire Yourself'.
In 2008 the GCA attracted more than 92,000 visitors and 118 exhibitors on a total gross area of 7,500 sqm, in addition 630 delegates and 75 speakers took part at the GC Asia Conference.
Full list of GCAC 2008 Speakers is available at the GCA website.
The concept behind the convention consists of four pillars: exhibition, business centre, matchmaking area, and GC Asia Conference. The GC Asia Conference allows developers and industry experts to exchange knowledge and know-how in panels and lectures and grow their international networks of business connections.
The event takes place over four days at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
(September 17–20, 2009) and is organized by LMI Asia Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Games Convention
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...
organizer, Leipziger Messe. In April 2008, LMI Asia Pte Ltd was founded in Singapore as an affiliate of LMI GmbH.
It was announced in March 2010 that the convention will no longer be held beginning from 2010 due to a low demand.
About Games Convention Asia
Games Convention Asia consists of the Students' Day, the public exhibition and the Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC).Students` Day & Career Fair:
- The computer games industry offers a range of job opportunities complementing the current large demand for new talent. The Students' Day & Career Fair allow students to meet industry icons and attend talks and workshops on various aspects of game design. Access to the Students' Day is free of charge though registration is required.
The Public Exhibition:
- Used for local and international companies introduce the latest games and products to the market over three days. The first day is dedicated to business visitors and media only. After debuting in 2007 with an attendance of 70,000 visitors, 92,000 visitors were welcomed at GCA 2008. Going beyond gaming, the GCA also features entertainment, media education and other events. The last day of the show focuses on families with the GCA Family Day.
- GCA's public exhibition also includes a cosplayCosplay, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
competition. In 2008, the grand prize was a trip to BlizzCon 2008 in California. The cosplay competition for GCA 2009 is a qualifier to the Asia-Pacific Cosplay Competition in the G03 convention at PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC):
- Held alongside the GCA. The conference is a set event with internationally known speakers and sponsors. In 2008, GCAC featured 75 speakers, many for the first time, including keynote speakers Michael De Plater of UbisoftUbisoftUbisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
, Joonmo Kwon of Nexon, Peter MolyneuxPeter MolyneuxPeter Douglas Molyneux OBE is an English computer game designer and game programmer. He created the God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Black & White, among others, as well as business simulation games such as Theme Park and more recently, the RPG series Fable.Despite the success of his games,...
of Lionhead StudiosLionhead StudiosLionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
and Cevat Yerli of CrytekCrytekCrytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
.
- The entire conference covers all aspects of the gaming industry and is divided in to three main tracks: Art/Design, Business and Development and Production. Topics discussed include micro-transactions, outsourcing, pitching, cross-platform development and online mobile games.
- It also contains the GCA Business Centre where industry participants present their companies and products. Here exhibitors, service providers, developers and journalists talk about trends, new products and business contacts. The Business Matchmaking tool is available for all participants of the GCA Business Centre and GCA Conference. It aims to support all attendees in initiating new business opportunities and closing deals. For this reason, professional attendees can create a profile visible to other Matchmaking participants.
- Meetings are held during the event within a designated business area in an informal environment.
- The 2009 GCAC will be hosting and Asia-Pacific centric D-I-C-E Summit as part of the convention's partnership with the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
Background
Founded in 2007, the GCA Games Convention Asia is a business platform for developers, publishers, distributors, manufacturers and service providers of the games industry in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. It focuses on interactive entertainment, infotainment, edutainment, hardware and the latest server technologies. Besides showcasing the latest in computer games and hardware, it also features information on the world of entertainment, media education and various stage events (e.g. Cosplay – Singapore Finals 2009).The theme for the Games Convention Asia is 'Inspire Yourself'.
In 2008 the GCA attracted more than 92,000 visitors and 118 exhibitors on a total gross area of 7,500 sqm, in addition 630 delegates and 75 speakers took part at the GC Asia Conference.
2008 Convention Speakers
- Peter MolyneuxPeter MolyneuxPeter Douglas Molyneux OBE is an English computer game designer and game programmer. He created the God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Black & White, among others, as well as business simulation games such as Theme Park and more recently, the RPG series Fable.Despite the success of his games,...
(Lionhead StudiosLionhead StudiosLionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
, UK) - Cevat YerliCevat YerliCevat Yerli is a Turkish computer game developer located in Germany who is the founder, CEO and President of Crytek. Crytek is an interactive entertainment development company founded by Cevat Yerli in 1997 - formally turned into a company in 1999. His brothers, Faruk and Avni, joined Crytek in...
(CrytekCrytekCrytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
, Germany) - Mario Wynands (Sidhe, New Zealand)
- Tom Crago (Tantalus, Australia)
- Allan Simonsen (Boomzap EntertainmentBoomzap EntertainmentBoomzap Entertainment is a casual games developer based in Singapore. It was formed in 2005 and has released ten games to date. Boomzap has developed for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS and Wii...
/IGDA, Singapore) - Don Daglow (Independent, USA)
- Joonmo Kwon (Nexon Corp/Nexon Mobile, South Korea)
- James Gray (EA Mobile, UK)
- Tom Felices (Nordic Game Program, Sweden)
- Melissa Lee (Massive Black, USA)
- Sean Kauppinen (International Digital Entertainment Agency, USA)
- Alexander Fernandez (Streamline Studios, Netherlands)
- Peter Paul Gadi (Anino Mobile, Philippines)
- Bob Wallace (Strategic Alternatives, USA)
- Feargus Carroll (LucasfilmLucasfilmLucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
, Singapore) - Keith Liu (NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, Singapore) - Jason Della Rocca (IGDA, Canada)
- Henry Jenkins III (Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, USA) - Gary Mi (Radience, China)
- Ragnar Tornquist (FuncomFuncomFuncom Productions A/S is a Norwegian video game developer specializing in online games. It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and its The Longest Journey series of adventure games...
, Norway) - Arne Peters (cdv Entertainment , Germany)
- Michel Kripalani (Autodesk, USA)
- Garett Wiley (798 Group, China)
- Chris Natsumme (Boomzap EntertainmentBoomzap EntertainmentBoomzap Entertainment is a casual games developer based in Singapore. It was formed in 2005 and has released ten games to date. Boomzap has developed for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS and Wii...
, Singapore) - Maxime Villandre (CodemastersCodemastersThe Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
, Malaysia) - Kok Khwang Ng (AsiasoftAsiasoftAsiaSoft is an online game operator in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia. Its headquarters is located in Bangkok, Thailand.AsiaSoft was founded in Thailand in 2001 with the primary objective of providing games and promoting online content in Thailand...
, Singapore)
Full list of GCAC 2008 Speakers is available at the GCA website.