Square Enix's Ichiro Otobe to Present Opening Keynote at the Serious Games Summit GDC 2007The Company's Chief Strategist Discusses New Opportunities in the Serious Games SectorPRNewswire SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- CMP's Game Group today announced Ichiro Otobe, chief strategist of Square Enix Co., Ltd., will serve as the opening keynote for its Serious Games Summit GDC (SGS GDC) taking place March 5-6 at the Moscone Convention Center North in San Francisco. Otobe's address, titled "Serious Games Squared," will detail the efforts, strategies, and risks that went into Square Enix's entry in the serious games sector. Otobe will also discuss the company's approach to reconcile commercial entertainment economics with the realities, challenges, and opportunities of the serious games industry. The session will also feature demos of prototype games and titles currently under development. "I am honored and excited to deliver the opening keynote at the Serious Games Summit GDC," said Otobe. "The serious games market represents a new outlet for our skills as a game developer, and it means that we will be serving totally different customers. As such, there are many different kinds of hurdles that must be cleared in order for it to offer meaningful opportunities. I plan to speak about Square Enix's approach to these challenges, and hopefully provide both business and design inspiration for everyone interested in the uses of games beyond entertainment." "We are thrilled to make this announcement. This keynote signifies the growing impact serious games can have not only outside of games but within the games industry -- even for major companies like Square Enix," said Ben Sawyer, co-founder, Digitalmill, and SGS GDC content chair. "We have constantly taken the approach that serious games gets its core strength from the great work arising from our best industry resources. This year's SGS GDC will speak to this and we look forward to the industry-wide reflection and innovation which will undoubtedly spring from the Summit and this address in particular." SGS GDC offers advanced seminars on design, production, implementation and assessment issues related to serious games, as well as case studies on game-based solutions and simulations used within non-entertainment industries. Attendees are invited to the annual SGS GDC Reception that will be held March 5 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. that provides them the opportunity to network with game developers and industry professionals. The SGS GDC speaker line-up, full session descriptions, and registration are now available online at http://sgs.gdconf.com/. Press registration is also currently open for the Summit and Game Developers Conference, at http://www.gdconf.com/. More than 12,500 game industry professionals will convene during GDC, the world's largest games industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of resources, tools and technologies used to create interactive entertainment. The GDC features more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. About the CMP Game Group (http://www.cmpgame.com/) A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, the Serious Games Summit D.C., GDC Mobile, GDC Europe, the Independent Games Festival, the Game Developers Choice Awards, GDC London, the London Games Summit, GDCTV, GDCRadio, and the GDC Focus On event series. For more information, please visit http://www.cmpgame.com/. About CMP Technology (http://www.cmp.com/) CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. SQUARE ENIX is a registered trademark of Square Enix Co., Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. SOURCE: CMP Game Group CONTACT: Sibel Sunar, sibel@fortyseven.com, or Craig Sinel, Web site: http://sgs.gdconf.com/ Web site: http://www.gdconf.com/ Web site: http://www.cmp.com/ Web site: http://www.cmpgame.com/ |