Billed as ‘the’ game industry event of the year, the GDC kicks off later today in San Francisco.  Technically, the conference runs Wednesday through Friday, but a number of events are taking place on Monday and Tuesday that are sure to ignite imaginations and build solid connections.  According to Meggan Scavio, GDC Director, conference attendance is expected to be a bit off from last years’ whopping 18,000 attendants.  And while NPD reports that the gaming industry is still chugging along amidst an economic recession, lowered attendance is a clear indication of the uncertain financial outlook.

Two standout highlights from this year include Wednesday mornings keynote speech by Satoru Iwata, chief executive of Nintendo.  This will be his third talk at the GDC, but his first since Nintendo’s Wii revolutionized what it means to be a ‘gamer’ and who’s included in the group.  Iwata is expected to speak about the DSi, the newest version of the popular hand held gaming platform originally launched in 2004.
Thursday morning brings industry legend Hideo Kojima, or Metal Gear fame, to the forefront; a ‘must see’ for any and all developers, designers, oh heck, if you’ve ever played a game – don’t miss this guy!

Games conferences are certainly about learning what’s hot, who’s got what technology coming out when, and making vital contacts, but let’s not forget about the events after the sun goes down.  This year, it looks like the Sony party is the hot ticket.  They’ll be kickin’ it hard on Wednesday night with their grand soiree.  In start contrast, with perhaps visions of AIG, Microsoft and Nintendo are slated to have a strong presence, but will be hosting lower-key events.

Also noteworthy is Apple’s presence, or lack there of, at the GDC.  Currently, there are approximately 6800 games available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  These devices have been hailed as the fastest growing platform(s) in the industry.  Apple is there, but they’ve yet to announce any big undertakings.  A slight ‘huh?’ comes to mind, as again, this is the biggest industry event of the year.  If Apple were ready to blow the doors off something big, this would certainly be the showcase to do it at.

View the full schedule of GDC events here.

Naturally the fatfoogoo team will be at the event in full force.  Give us a shout, and let’s talk microtransactions!

• Martin Herdina – CEO – martin (at) fatfoogoo (dot) com
• Clive Jefferies – SVP Global Sales – clive (at) fatfoogoo (dot) com
• Stevie Case – VP Sales & Business Development – Stevie (at) fatfoogoo (dot) com

Tags: conference attendance, dsi, economic recession, game industry, gaming industry, gaming platform, gdc, iphone, NPD

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