Spring Break
Game Developer Conference Allows Insight Into Gaming Industry
Fernando Dutra
Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: Focus
The Game Developers' Conference (GDC) is an official trade event "by developers for developers," according to the event's official Web site. Originally an event focused on computer games, the focal point shifted once the industry expanded to include other video game platforms, namely handhelds and consoles, along with devices such as cellular phones and PDAs. The reason the GDC has suddenly shot up in importance is because of the Electronic Entertainment Expo's (E3) decision to scale back their presentation and focus on a more intimate environment. E3 used to be the convention most developers and companies saved their ammunition for, given that it received the most press coverage for its Hollywood-style representation of the videogame industry. Since the announcement of E3 becoming an invitation-only event, several other conventions have stepped up in an attempt to fill the void left by E3. It is for this reason that many expected the GDC to be privy to some information that would normally be saved for E3.
From March 5 to March 9, the GDC was held in San Francisco and hosted keynote speakers such as Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCEWS) and a corporate executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., and Shigeru Miyamato, senior managing director of Nintendo.
In the very beginning of the event, Microsoft had a few announcements regarding the Xbox 360. The size limit for games on Xbox Live Arcade, a collection of games that can be found, bought, and downloaded via Xbox Live, was increased to one hundred fifty megabytes (MB) from the original fifty. This announcement allows for more intricate and bigger Xbox Live Arcade games, including the recently announced "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night." With the increase in the size limit for Xbox Live games, Microsoft also announced a new memory unit in order to quell any Xbox 360 Core owners since Core systems do not come with a hard drive. A 512 MB card would be available beginning April 3 for $50 and will come preloaded with "Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved" for a limited time, with the 64 MB model dropping in price to thirty dollars.
From March 5 to March 9, the GDC was held in San Francisco and hosted keynote speakers such as Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCEWS) and a corporate executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., and Shigeru Miyamato, senior managing director of Nintendo.
In the very beginning of the event, Microsoft had a few announcements regarding the Xbox 360. The size limit for games on Xbox Live Arcade, a collection of games that can be found, bought, and downloaded via Xbox Live, was increased to one hundred fifty megabytes (MB) from the original fifty. This announcement allows for more intricate and bigger Xbox Live Arcade games, including the recently announced "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night." With the increase in the size limit for Xbox Live games, Microsoft also announced a new memory unit in order to quell any Xbox 360 Core owners since Core systems do not come with a hard drive. A 512 MB card would be available beginning April 3 for $50 and will come preloaded with "Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved" for a limited time, with the 64 MB model dropping in price to thirty dollars.
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