This week is the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California. What happened to San Jose?
I see the move to Moscone Center as a bad sign for GDC, almost as bad as this year's conference logo. Since the hedonism of E3 is out of fashion, and since it was essentially gutted this year, it seems to me that the marketing forces that drove that show over the cliff are descending on GDC, to take that over. Which would be a shame, if true.
GDC is (was?) all about developers: developers talking to developers, making connections, finding publishers, showing off their work to each other. Middleware companies trying to get customers, and generally a strong focus on the developers themselves. Round tables, panel discussions, presentations, it has always been a fun week getting reconnected again, and sharing ideas.
Traditionally in San Jose, this move to SF worries me. The lack of a current game designer giving a keynote worries me. It seems as if the feel of the show is moving away from developers, and encompassing more of the industry as a whole. It's great to have industry shows, but it's also good to have a developer-only show, too.
Eh, we'll see. Maybe it won't be so bad.
Comments (1)
Harry - GDC was at the Moscone in 2004, and 2006 as well - this isn't a new thing. As for everyone wanting to turn GDC into E3 - we're doing our best to make sure that doesn't happen.
Posted by simonc | February 24, 2008 6:55 PM
Posted on February 24, 2008 18:55