Gstar 2009: The Future of Video Games and the Video Game Industry

Gaming fans and members of the gaming industry from all around the world will gather together for the exhibition show Gstar 2009 at Busan’s Bexco Convention Center from November 26-29. This will be the 5^th year of this event, and companies and visitors from all over the world will come to preview the future of the gaming industry. At this event, future games, products, and developments will be displayed. Two hundred companies from 20 different countries including America, China, Japan, and European countries will make appearances at this exhibition.

Last year’s event included appearances of 162 companies from 17 countries and over 180,000 visitors showed up. Global companies including Microsoft and Intel appeared as well as many domestic companies including NCsoft, NHN, and Nexon. Ted Seo, general director of KOCCA, the organizers of Gstar 2009 stated, “Last year’s event was a success with companies and visitors from all over the world. However, we are expecting more companies and visitors to take part in this year’s Gstar 2009.”

There will be hundreds of companies and booths located inside Bexco with plenty of products or technologies to display. Booths will be divided into two main sections B2C and B2B. The B2B section booths will cover about 9,000 sq. m. inside Bexco and will be the location where companies hold business meetings and consultations. These booths give companies the opportunity to collaborate and consult with other companies for possible business deals. It also provides the companies a better understanding of the gaming industry by previewing other company’s products and technologies and having a chance to speak to other company’s representatives. This event could be the perfect opportunity for companies to expand their businesses and possibly create new business partners.

Within the B2C section booths, companies will exhibit their new games and future projects. Other game technology and game trends will also be featured. These booths will feature a variety of games including console games, arcade games, board games, and mobile games. Different types of online games including MMORPGs (Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Games), action, and casual games will be displayed as well. This allows visitors to get a preview of companies’ future games or developments that will be released.

Other programs planned within this event include a board game competition and an e-sports competition known as the GNGWC (Game and Game World Championships). At the e-sports competition, gamers from different countries will compete at the global stage. These players are trained and then given the chance to represent their country. Countries including Japan, America, and other European countries will send their best gamers to this event to take part in this competition. Games that will be played include Shot Online and Silk Road Online and Atrantica. This competition brings together the best gamers in the world and gives them the opportunity to show their skills. This competition will create an intense and exciting environment at Gstar 2009.

Currently, Korea’s game industry is among the top in the world and is constantly expanding. In this year alone, Korea’s game exports created revenues of about 1.09 billion US dollars. Korean companies are constantly creating games that are attractive to gamers worldwide. Also, they recently finished a project in which they offer a game service located in certain parts of the world where users pay and download games over the internet. This allows it’s customers to conveniently purchase their games from home. Also, this service increases the speed and efficiency of the game for users with older computers and slower internet. This system features a good infrastructure, enhances game speed for it’s users, and allows customers to directly buy from their computers. At Gstar 2009, many of these services will be featured. This event provides an opportunity for the world to preview why Korea is amongst the top within the game industry.

Ted Seo, general director of KOCCA, the organizers of Gstar2009 stated, “Gstar2009 is an event that is popular worldwide because it is one of the biggest game exhibition shows in the world. If you’re a fan of games, Gstar2009 is the perfect event.”

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