CMP Announces China Game Summit, GDC Asia

The CMP Game Group, host of the Game Developers Conference (GDC), and owner of Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra.com, has announced that it is growing the global game development community by introducing an initial China Game Summit, and announcing plans to run GDC Asia in late 2006. The initial one-day China Game Summit event will take place tomorrow, Dec. 7, at The Hilton Hotel in Shanghai, China. Developers, publishers and industry professionals representing companies from both China and the West will gather to explore the theme of “What's Next” in the world of video game creation. The summit will serve as a forum for Asian developers to exchange ideas and establish partnerships to better prepare for future development cycles. It will provide invaluable information regarding business and creative processes behind next-generation consoles and titles, including production and budgets. Moreover, the event will explore ways to advance resources and techniques to create better quality games that will appeal to international audiences. Panels will feature high-level executives from Factor 5, Microsoft, Shanda, The 9, and Ubisoft Shanghai, who will discuss key global trends in game development and ways to address potential obstacles. “With the strength of local online PC gaming as well as its outsourcing talent, Chinese game development offers a unique set of opportunities, while experiencing common challenges,” Jamil Moledina, conference director, said. “The China Game Summit will address the production and creative issues that both Chinese and global developers are faced with and how the industry can move forward and adapt while improving the quality of the titles.” The success of the GDC as a networking platform for U.S. and Western developers has compelled the CMP Game Group to connect with their Eastern counterparts, resulting in the formation of the China Game Summit. The organization recently hosted its fifth successful GDC Europe and plans to complete the global ecosystem of game development by launching GDC Asia in late 2006.