Think Services has announced that the 2008 Austin GDC broke attendance records this year attracting 3,000 attendees, an 11% increase over last year. Congrats to the AGDC team! The show looked sharp this year. I do have to say Worlds In Motion langushed. In many of the WiM sessions there were only 30-70 people in the room. This compaired to a packed WiM room at during GDC in the spring. Of course when you have an attendance of 18,000 (GDC's attendance) it's easier to fill a 350 person room. Austin GDC will return in 2009 at the Austin Convention Center September 14-18, 2009.
2008 AUSTIN GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE BREAKS ATTENDANCE RECORDS
The 6th Annual Conference Dedicated to Connected Games, Game Audio, and Writing for Games “Evolves to Win”
AUSTIN — Sept. 25, 2008 — The 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference (Austin GDC) broke attendance records this year attracting 3,000 attendees, a full 11% increase over last year’s successful event. The conference, which covered connected games, game audio, and writing for games, proved successful in inspiring game developers to look beyond the traditional methods of developing digital entertainment by way of the future-focused content presented. Austin GDC once again played host to a number of memorable keynotes including Lane Merrifield’s discussion on Club Penguin, the company he co-founded, and futurist Bruce Sterling’s talk on where computer entertainment will be 35 years from today. In addition, evening mixers like the SXSW Interactive Screenburn reception and Austin GDC closing party gave attendees ample opportunity to network with peers and meet new industry professionals. Finally, the sold out expo floor at the Austin Convention Center featured more than 130 participating exhibitors and sponsors showcasing up-and-coming game technology and software.
“Similar to the title of one of our keynote addresses, ‘At Your Service Putting Customer First,’ we took to heart all the feedback from our attendees, sponsors and exhibitors from 2007’s event to create an even better experience for AGDC08,” said Izora De Lillard, conference director. “Seeing the amount of energy, enthusiasm, and satisfaction from everyone over the three days is proof that the conference has indeed ‘evolved and won.’ We’ll again take a look at the feedback from this year’s event to continue to create a community of learning, networking, and inspiration for the 2009 Austin Game Developers Conference.”
This year’s conference also included:
- The successful introduction of the Independent Games Showcase – a snapshot of the locally developed games within the area and a spin off the hugely success Independent Games Festival held every year at GDC.
- The introduction of the Worlds in Motion Summit, which focused on the intersection and opportunities for games and interactive worlds by companies both large and small.
- The successful return of the Game Career Seminar, a one day event geared towards educating interested students, graduates, and future game developers on how to get their foot inside the game industry.
- myGDC and schedule builder, the event’s own online social networking tool for communicating and sharing schedules with other attendees, exhibitors, and speakers.
The Austin GDC returns in 2009 at the Austin Convention Center September 14-18. For more information on Austin GDC and the advisory board visit www.AustinGDC.net.
About Think Services
Think Services connects specialized communities worldwide using innovative media, educational events, consulting, training and certification. Providing comprehensive opportunities for people to learn from, network with, and inspire each other, Think Services builds strong brands and works within communities to foster a unique affinity with its products and services. The division's flagship products include the Game Developers Conference, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, Game Developer magazine, the International Customer Management Institute, HDI (formerly the Help Desk Institute), and Dr. Dobb's Journal. Think Services 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 $2.5 billion.
To learn more, visit http://www.think-services.com
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United Business Media Limited is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.
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Hey Chris - I agree that it was a little quiet in places, but I think we came to the conclusion that the Austin show itself is really a lot closer to the content of the Summit than we previously realized.
So really, the WiM-interested attendees were spread out across _all_ the AGDC sessions, in many cases. This gives us good ammo to make suitable tweaks going forward.
Ta,
Simon@Think Services!
Posted by: Simonc | September 26, 2008 at 07:22 AM
I suspected as much. Congrats again on a great show.
Posted by: chris | September 26, 2008 at 07:26 AM