Conferences get consolidated

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:04 am PT

Organizers of Game Developers Conference acquire annual online-focused Austin Game Conference and satellite cons, contributing to already-swelling roster of industry events.

The CMP Game Group is getting bigger. The event organizer already runs the Game Developers Conference (as well as its GDC London, GDC Russia, and GDC FocusOn offshoots), the Serious Games Summit, and satellite shows like the Independent Games Festival, London Games Summit, and GDC Mobile. Now it's adding the online-focused Austin Game Conference to its roster, as CMP today announced that it has acquired that event's organizer, The Game Initiative.

This year's Austin Game Conference--the fourth in the event's history--took place in the Texas capital September 6 to 8. The first three-day Austin Game Conference drew 2,400 attendees and was headlined by keynotes from World of Warcraft designer Rob Pardo and film producer Jon Landau (Titanic, Avatar), as well a "fireside chat" with Dell chairman Michael Dell.

CMP has said it hopes to build on the success of the show using the lessons and experience it has gained from running the GDC series of events, and that it "will remain a focal point for examination of online, PC, casual, and mobile game interests." The Austin Game Conference's satellite shows--the Game Writers' Conference, the Game Audio Conference, and the Casual Games Conference--will also continue as planned.

The Game Initiative executive director Chris Sherman is only going to be involved with the Austin Game Conference as an advisor in the future, but he said in a statement that he was leaving the show in good hands.

"We are confident that the future of the event will be well served by CMP, which has deep resources in event management," Sherman said. "They will be able to facilitate the growth of the event without sacrificing what we deliver to our loyal attendees and sponsors."

The next Austin Game Conference is still scheduled for September 5 to 7, 2007, in the Austin Convention Center.

22 Comments

_Sam_
Posted Oct 12, 2006 6:03 pm PT

what's the point of them doing it all
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cjcr_alexandru
Posted Oct 10, 2006 10:18 am PT

One organizer for all that conferences? I hope this is good news.
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jakeboudville
Posted Oct 9, 2006 9:39 pm PT

right......
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nintendorocks
Posted Oct 9, 2006 5:36 pm PT

Well, the GDC is a pretty good conference but everything else including the Austin Game Conference, is pretty low rate so really not much news. As long as the conference keep happening, it's fine with me.
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hemakm3
Posted Oct 9, 2006 5:22 pm PT

ok
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NFunspoiler
Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:54 pm PT

We should have one major conference on every major continent every 3 months.
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Blackstaff
Posted Oct 9, 2006 4:00 pm PT

And E3's lifespan seems to get shorter and shorter with every game conference related announcement
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blackthegame
Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:35 pm PT

comthitnuong
well thats a long way from now

TRUE
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jc_tkml
Posted Oct 9, 2006 3:31 pm PT

blinky116
Sony: *walks into tech diner*
Technology: How's going bud. What'll it be for you this generation, the usual?
Sony: How rich! Of course, here's a wad of cash. I want the best damn graphics available and I don't want to have to think or innovate with this new console. I know we're probably making the same mistake twice in a row with the PSP and PS3, but if we're lucky consumers won't even notice.
Tech: Ha! Excellent choice, sir. But traditionally, hasn't a large portion of your user base consisted of people that only play Madden? Sir, I sincerely doubt they'll be able to afford this new console! Please reconsider!
Sony: Don't worry your pretty little head, tech. I think we'll be safe employing our tried and true formula of regurgitating our big hitters with updated graphics and the same old gameplay. Our 11th anniversary of doing nothing different is coming up, why change now?
*Mysterious figure walks in*
Fate: Nice to meet you, Sony.

ha for a nintendo gamer you seem to forget about sony's motion controller and ignoring xbox360's online capabilities
BTW pulling a remote doesn't excite me I'd rather really fish outside
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comthitnuong
Posted Oct 9, 2006 2:24 pm PT

well thats a long way from now
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MrPuzzlez
Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:58 pm PT

Must be slow news day... Nothing major has been said about the big 3.
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ConManWithGun
Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:52 pm PT

that just sounds weird
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blinky116
Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:24 pm PT

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]
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WolfSkill5544
Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:23 pm PT

ok
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TintedChimes
Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:19 pm PT

man this is a slow newsday, must be a monday.
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Elite_Jounin
Posted Oct 9, 2006 1:04 pm PT

Something to talk about
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ZabuzaR
Posted Oct 9, 2006 12:39 pm PT

Better th en nothing I suppose. I wish it was near were I live... =(
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ciryorel
Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:45 am PT

Wish it was in NY!
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awarriorofgamin
Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:28 am PT

cool bigger is better i guess
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jared81799
Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:25 am PT

i always try to go to AGC. excited about next year's conf.
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the_elements600
Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:23 am PT

Interesting
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makemeweak
Posted Oct 9, 2006 11:12 am PT

Nice to know...
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