Join the Quo Vadis Conference Volunteer Crew

Are you looking for a job in the gaming industry and want to make contacts to developer studios, related companies? Are you a video game enthusiast and want to get an exclusive behind the scenes look at the industry? Are you interested in event management look behind the curtain of a big B2B and B2C event?

Why don't you join Quo Vadis as a volunteer? Volunteers welcome attendees, assist with registration, provide directions, scan badges, hand out headsets, greet speakers and make sure they are all set for their talk, provide technical support in some cases, and keep the conference clean.

Quo Vadis takes place in Berlin from April 24-25, 2018. The priority volunteer sign-up ends on February 16, 2018 at 23:59 CEST. 

To learn more and sign up visit: http://bit.ly/QuoVadisVolunteers18

 

 

Get 15% off Your Ticket to White Nights Prague

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The White Nights Conference is returning to Prague on February 13-14, 2018. Industry leaders all over the world including representatives from King, Obsidian Entertainment, Supercell, App Annie, GSN Games, Bandai Namco, Raw Fury, Facebook, Nevosoft, Unreal Engine, Guerrilla Games, Appodeal, Pixonic, Wargaming, Playrix,  and more will gather in Czech Republic. Over 1,000 attendees are expected.

The show will feature three lecture tracks with more than 60 speakers and a big Developer Exhibition with numerous talented teams from all over the world presenting their games to game industry gurus. 

The agenda will also include great networking events.

Use promo code IGDA-Finland to receive a 15% discount when registering here: http://wnconf.com/en/tickets.

It's the #XmasJKL Time of the Year - Get 15% off!

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#XmasJKL is an annual game industry business event held in Jyväskylä organized by Peliosuuskunta Expa & the IGDA Finland Jyväskylä Hub. This year the event will be held November 17-18 at Musica (M) in Jyväskylä.

IGDA Finland members get a 15% discount when using promocode IGDAFIN when buying tickets through Eventbrite!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/xmasjkl-the-finnish-game-industry-seminar-2017-tickets-33657191566

For a full list of speakers and additional information, visit the event website: https://www.xmasjkl.com/

 

Get 25% off Athens Game Festival

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The inaugural Athen Games Festival will take place October 28-29, 2017, at the Helexpo Exhibition Center in Marousi, Greece. Greek and foreign game developers, researchers, academics, publishers and journalists will be supporting and promoting games and digital culture. 

AGF participants will find:
 
•    Presentations by influential people from the global game industry
•    Meetings with executives of major international corporations in the field
•    Exhibitors from Greece, Cyprus and other countries
•    Networking events such as Pitch and Match and the Athens Games Festival Party
•    Exciting, competitive challenges to get your game discovered like the Nordic Game Discovery Contest

During the Athens Game Festival, the Game Art Collection (GAC) will take place for the second consecutive year: Digital Game Developers will participate in an exhibition aiming to highlight the talents of Greek and foreign 2D artists and musicians, with "Superheroes of Greece" as a theme!

The Athens Game Festival is organized by the General Secretariat for Media and Communication of the Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media, with the contribution of the White Nights Conference. 

For more information, visit https://athensgamesfestival.gr and subscribe to our newsletter. 

IGDA Finland members get 25% discount using promo code IGDA25 when registering here: 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/athens-games-festival17-tickets-36064684442

Last Call for the Free Buses to Pocket Gamer

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The awesome folks at Pocket Gamer have extended the free bus sign ups until this Thursday, September 14th.  Drop everything and sign up for a bus now!

Wait, free buses are cool and all, but I still need to buy a conference pass, right?

Well, yes you do. But they're also offering 30% off tickets when you sign up using promo code: IGDA_FINN17. Or just use follow this link. Can't you just feel the love?

As previously mentioned, this year the event has expanded into VR and PC, so it's three conferences in one. For more info on the conference visit:

See you next week!

Get 15% off Your Ticket to White Nights Moscow

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There is just under a month left before White Nights Moscow, which means it's time to start planning your trip! On October 10-11, 2017 the conference will gather leading game industry professionals in Congress Park at the Radisson Royal Hotel in Moscow. Over 1,300 attendees are expected.

The show will feature three lecture tracks and a big Developer Exhibition with over 100 talented teams from all over the world presenting their games to game industry gurus. Every team participating in the showcase will receive an exclusive, free mini-booth.

For more info on the Developer Exhibition visit: http://wnconf.com/en#exhibition

The conference program will feature presentations by representatives of Obsidian Entertainment, Playrix, BlackStorm Labs, King,  Nevosoft, Playtika, Google, Social Quantum, Appodeal, Pixonic, MyTona, Amazon, Unity, AppsFlyer, Facebook, Wargaming, Epic Games, Game Insight and other leading companies.

There will be a separate block in the program devoted to esports and blockchain in games.

 

Developers will also get a chance to win trophies and great prizes in the Indie Game Cup international tournament. To participate please apply before September 22. Please note that you must to be present at the event if you wish to take part in the contest.

Ticket prices kick off at EUR 150. Use promo code IGDA-Finland to receive a 15% discount when registering here: http://wnconf.com/en#registration.

Attendees requiring Russian visas can learn more information here: http://wnconf.com/#visa

PG Connects: Free Bus and Discounted Conference Tickets

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If you work in the mobile, PC or VR/AR games industry, Pocket Gamer Connects is the place to be this September. Taking place September 19-20 in Wanha Satama, Helsinki, it will deliver talks and panels, an expo area, free meeting system, massive party, indie pitch sessions and loads more. Celebrating its fourth year in Helsinki, PG Connects has become a popular fixture in the industry calendar.

This year the event has expanded into VR and PC, so it's three conferences in one. For more info on the conference visit:

IGDA Finland and Pocket Gamer want everyone to have a chance to take part in this event, so to make everything more accessible and convenient for our friends outside the Helsinki area we are organizing bus rides from hubs all around the country. The buses, provided by Pocket Gamer, are completely free of charge - you just need to register in this form and turn up. The deadline for register for bus is September 11th, so don't wait, sign up now. 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-bus-ride-to-pgc-xrc-pc-connects-helsinki-2017-tickets-37088922967

A bus ticket doesn’t guarantee entry to the event - you’ll need a conference pass for that. As the event is so close, full price tickets recently rose in price. But fear not! The PGC Team wants to see IGDA members there, so they’re offering a 30% discount on this price to all IGDA members. Simply go to this exclusive URL and book your place now:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pocket-gamer-connects-helsinki-2017-tickets-31316271812?discount=IGDA_FINN17

They are also still accepting sign-ups for the Big Indie Pitch, VR Indie Pitch and PC Indie Pitch, so if you have a game project you’d like to showcase to expert judges, get in touch!

Get 20% Off Northern Game Summit

The Northern Game Summit (NGS) is an annual game conference and networking event held in Kajaani, Finland on October 5-6, 2017.

Kajaani is located 550 kilometres north from the capital of Finland, Helsinki. The Northern Game Summit doesn’t brag about its size, but rather on its easy-going and intimate environment where participants really have direct access to all the 500+ attendees. The event has three parts, the Business Mixer (a pre-party on the evening of October 4th), the Bonus Stage Party, and the NGS 2017 itself, which has six different tracks: Design, Production, Art, Audio, Business, and Technology.

The Northern Game Summit has attracted great speakers from all around the world including industry veteran John Romero, voice actor Adam Harrington (famous from Tales from Monkey Island and Wolf Among Us), Chris Evans from Blizzard Entertainment, Patrick Rose a Business and Product Analyst at Bandai Namco, Entertainment Europe, Eevi Korhonen a Game Designer at Remedy Entertainment and Timo Heinäpurola a Senior Engineer at Reforged Studios. A complete list of speakers is available on the conference website here: https://goo.gl/PBm7Td

This year’s panel discussion is about game psychology and how does games and gaming have an influence on the human mind. This will definitely be an interesting conversation and a worthy closure for the NGS 2017.

The Business Mixer is the NGS pre-party and game developers and others can mix’n’match there on October 4th before the conference. The Bonus Stage Party is an official conference party on October 5th that will have great people, Marioke, food, open bar and a small number of exhibitors.

IGDA participants can buy any ticket with 20% discount. Use promocode NGS-IGDA2017 to get it.

The event has been sold out in the previous years, so get your tickets ASAP: https://goo.gl/oFqx7s

Get a 30% Discount to 4C: St. Petersburg

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The 4C conference, co-organized by Wargaming and West Game Development Forum, will welcome speakers from leading companies such as Epic Games, Ubisoft, Supercell, Electronic Arts, Arkane Studios, and many others to foresee the future of the game industry.

The event will take place on September 22–23, at the Park Inn Pribaltiyskaya Hotel, in St. Petersburg, Russia. More than 80 industry professionals from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and CIS countries will share their expertise in developing, publishing, and marketing games. The roster of speakers will include representatives from Ubisoft (Sergei Titarenko, Development Director), Epic Games (Ben Lewis-Evans, UX Researcher), Arkane Studios (Eric Beyhl, Lead Environment Artist), IO Interactive (Maurizio De Pascale, Technical Director), and other big-name industry players.

4С: St. Petersburg will see, amongst others, a lecture by Glen Gathard of Pinewood Studios, who recorded Foley for the game Total War: Rome II, as well as, movies Guardians of the Galaxy and Edge of Tomorrow, and dialogue for Avengers: Age of Ultron, Skyfall, and Prometheus. Ralph Palmer, who worked as an animator at Disney on An American Tail, Pocahontas, and Tarzan, as well as the 3D versions of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, will speak about character creation.

The disciplines for 4C’s thematic tracks have been announced. The guests of the conference will be able to attend presentations and panels dedicated to 11 areas of game development and publishing:

  • Art
  • Audio
  • Business, data & marketing
  • Foreseeing the future
  • Game design
  • Mobile
  • New media
  • Production & leadership
  • QA
  • Technology
  • UX

Learn more about 4C: St. Petersburg and purchase tickets on the official website: http://www.conf4c.com

IGDA Finland Members qualify for a 30% discount. Use promo code 4CIGDA when buying your tickets. 

 

GameCamps Riga 2017

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GameCamps is inviting developers, artists, sound designers to Riga to participate in a 48-hour hackathon from Sept 29 - Oct 1. Teams will build a working game prototype and pitch it to a distinguished jury of game industry veterans. The best teams will earn the possibility of getting up to 10000 Euros in financing along with business mentoring on how to run an international game company.
Game Developers based in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, may be eligible for FREE travel, accommodation, food and feedback. 

The registration is open until 15th September, so sign up now!
Registration: 
https://www.b2match.eu/gamecampsriga2017

Game Camps is an initiative to strengthen cross-border ties between the Baltic Sea countries’ game industries. It’s express goal is to help establish at least 10 cross-border game companies over the next three years, working with no less than 240 aspiring game developers from Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden. Game Camps is co-financed by the EU INTERREG Central Baltic program.

All in all, four Game Camps will be held – one in each participating country – and the grand final is in 2019 in Silicon Valley, California, where the best of the best will pitch to a group of investors and fight to secure funding for their game. The first event took place in Tallinn, Estonia, from April 4 - 6. In total more than 60 participants, nine teams were organized, three winner teams were selected. Future events are planned in Kotka, Finland and Visby, Sweden. 

For more information visit: http://www.gamecamps.eu

 

4C Conference in Kyiv: Call for Speakers

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The 4C Conference will take place in Kyiv 23th–24th of September and is now calling for speakers. The deadline is 23th of August.

4C’s motto is: Create. Craft. Communicate. Collaborate.

4C: Kyiv is a conference for those who drive change, not just adjust to it. Listed among participants and speakers are world leading video game specialists and experts. Our goal with this event is to create a meeting place for the most innovative and aspiring developers from across the globe. We won’t be talking about the state of the industry today — we’ll be discussing what the industry will be like in 5 or even 10 years.

The event is sponsored by Wargaming, an award-winning online game developer and publisher, and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. They’re best known for the mega-hit game World of Tanks.

Additional information: 4C Kyiv_Call_For_Speakers (PDF) & http://conf4c.com/

Pocket Gamer Connects: Helsinki 2016

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2 Days, 8 Tracks, 100+ Speakers, 500 Companies, 1,000 Delegates, Endless Networking: PG Connects Helsinki is just around the corner!

The Mid-Term tickets to PGC Helsinki 2016 are still available and there´s a special 20 % discount to IGDA members. Go grab yours at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pocket-gamer-connects-helsinki-2016-tickets-20978722925?discount=PGC-IGDA

Pocket Gamer Connects is the conference series that reaches the heart of the mobile gaming industry. Curated by the teams responsible for the world’s leading mobile gaming site, it’s the essential event for anyone wanting to meet, hear, and learn from the leading figures from every corner of the mobile games industry.

Over 6,700 people have so far attended Pocket Gamer Connects conferences and have loved the unique access to the biggest names in the sector, the brilliant networking opportunities, and sharply honed content on show.

Who’s Attending?

Speakers and delegates from all the key industry players including:

  • Supercell, King, DeNA, TenCent, Gamevil, KakaoTalk, CJ E&M, Chukong, Disney, Wargaming, Kabam, Frogmind, Nordeus, Creative, Mag Interactive, NTT Docomo, Ubisoft, Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Sega, Capcom, Mag Interactive, G5 Grand Cru, iDreamSky, Unity, Wooga, Fingersoft and many, many more.
  • Hundreds of the hottest indie developers sharing their games in our Very Big Indie Pitch, Indie track, and I ? Indie Showcase zone.
  • Learn from over 100 amazing speakers across dedicated tracks.
  • Networking made easy via a dedicated meeting system.
  • Party and evening fringe events.

Additional information: http://www.pgconnects.com/helsinki/

Ropecon <3 IGDA

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Many professionals in the field of gaming have begun their careers through role-playing games. Ropecon wishes to honor that connection with this year's CrossGames programmer track, which explores the common ground between digital and physical role-playing games.

What game mechanics do they share? How about combining physical and digital games? The panelists and lecturers share their development and storytelling tips. The presenters include familiar names such as Karoliina Korppoo, Tuomas Pirinen, Touko Tahkokallio and Guest of Honour, Ross Watson.

The event is a great opportunity to network, find new ideas and tools from the realm of physical games or to simply enjoy yourself! This year we've focused on making the event even more welcoming to families, so you can bring them as well!

Find out more at ropecon.fi

When: 29th to 31st of July
Where: Messukeskus, Helsinki
How much: 35e / 3 days or 25e/15e / day (discounts available to children and elderly)

Come join us! We <3 IGDA!

En kestä Ropecon ilman IGDA Beers (Can’t handle Ropecon without IGDA Beers)

It is the summer holiday season, but if you're missing those good ol' IGDA evenings, we got one for you!

Let’s meet up for developer beers on Friday! Devs old and new, of role-playing games and digital ones. We have so much to discuss. And so much beer to drink.

We've reserved some seats for you at the Terra Nova bar, which is right next to Messukeskus. You do NOT need a Ropecon ticket to enter, so come in for an evening and chat with us over a beer.

The event starts at 20.00 on Friday 29th. No entrance fee.

We hope to see you there!

Vesa Raudasoja elected to the IGDA Board of Directors

Vesa Raudasoja, a long time active member of IGDA Finland,  has unlocked quite an achievement as he was elected to the IGDA Board of Directors. IGDA Finland warmly congratulates Vesa Raudasoja for his election and wishes him continued success in his future endeavors.

The results of the election came out on Thursday the 3rd of March and new board members will officially begin their terms on 1st of April 2016.

The final results are as follows:

  • Vesa Raudasoja - 473 votes
  • Lucy Morris - 318 votes
  • Melody Schaeffer - 241 votes
  • Cat Wendt - 213 votes

More information on the election and results can be found here: http://www.igda.org/news/278072/2016-IGDA-Board-of-Directors-Election-Results.htm

Vesa Raudasoja nominated for IGDA Board of Directors / Vesa Raudasoja ehdolla IGDA:n hallitukseen

A long time active IGDA Finland member and a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Vesa Raudasoja has been nominated for International Game Developer's Association's (IGDA) Board of Directors. Raudasoja has been involved with IGDA Finland since the beginning, and is the first Finnish person nominated for the Board. Previously the Board of Directors has mainly consisted of members from North America.

A game developer himself, and having closely followed the growth of Finnish game industry, Raudasoja finds IGDA's role very important for game developer communities and wants to get European and Scandinavian voices heard more in the community.

"I'm sure that many game studios in Finland and internationally have started because of IGDA's activities. Without an organization like this the game industry in Finland, for example, would probably be much smaller. Game developer communities are very important and IGDA has been creating these for years all around the world.”

All full members of IGDA are eligible to vote on the election until the end of February. There are four candidates in total of which two will be elected.

Raudasoja will be saying a few words on his nomination at the February gathering on 9.2.

More information on the election: http://www.igda.org/?page=elections2016

Vesa's Campaign Page: https://www.facebook.com/voteforvesa

IGDA Finlandin pitkäaikainen aktiivi, Lifetime Achievement Awardilla palkittu Vesa Raudasoja on ehdolla International Game Developer's Association (IGDA):n hallitukseen. Raudasoja on ollut mukana IGDA Finlandin toiminnassa sen perustamisesta lähtien ja on ensimmäisenä suomalaisena ehdolla hallitukseen, jonka paikat ovat aiemmin jakautuneet enimmäkseen pohjois-amerikkalaisten toimijoiden kesken.

Raudasoja on itsekin pelinkehittäjä, ja on ollut seuraamassa Suomen peliteollisuuden kasvua pienistä indie-studioista satojen pelialan yritysten maaksi. Hän pitää IGDA:n roolia erittäin tärkeänä peliteollisuudelle, ja haluaa saada yhteisössä kuuluviin erityisesti pohjoismaista ja eurooppalaista ääntä.

“Olen varma, että monikin pelialan yritys niin Suomessa kuin ulkomaillakin on saanut alkunsa IGDA:n ansiosta. Ilman tällaista toimijaa peliteollisuus etenkin Suomessa olisi varmasti pienempi. Yhteisöt ovat erittäin tärkeitä ja IGDA on luonut näitä vuosien ajan ympäri maailman.”

Kaikki IGDA:n täysivaltaiset jäsenet voivat äänestää vaaleissa aina helmikuun loppuun asti. Neljästä nimetystä ehdokkaasta kaksi valitaan hallitukseen.

Raudasoja on paikalla helmikuun tapaamisessa 9.2. ja pitää puheenvuoron ehdokkuudestaan.

More information on the election: http://www.igda.org/?page=elections2016

Vesa's Campaign Page: https://www.facebook.com/voteforvesa

Northern Game Summit 1.-2.10.

This week we’ll see the return of Northern Game Summit, which is held now for the 4th time already. The action takes place in Bio Rex, Kajaani, on 1.-2.10. – only two days from now! The event will feature speakers from Finland and around the world, representing designers, producers, programmers, artists and more. Some of the speakers, like Colossal Order’s Karoliina Korppoo and Housemarque’s Ilari Kuittinen, definitely need no further introductions, but the foreign talent is not to be dismissed either: Hunter Grant (US) is an industry veteran currently working as Lead Cinematics Animator at Blizzard, Marek Rosa (CZ) and his team at Keen Software House are responsible for the hit sandbox game Space Engineers – and this is just the start of the impressive speaker list.

Besides talks, there will be partying, mingling and a game showcase on Thursday evening: the party, titled Bonus Stage, is hosted by Fingersoft and there will be an opportunity for companies and local students to show their games and meet other people in the industry.

Friday will be concluded in a panel discussion, “Everything there is to come”. The panel is hosted by Ste Curran and the panelists are Antti Seppänen, Mehdi Benkirane, Luke Savage and Tuija Lindén.

What makes this year’s event special is the NGS Mixer on Wednesday which is a chance for people in the games and film industries to get together and find opportunities for co-operation. The makers of Rendel, a Finnish action film to be released next year, will be attending. They will also take part in a panel discussion, “Games & Movies, Brothers & Sisters”, which is hosted by Kimmo Kari and other panelists including KP Hiltunen, Niklas Saari and representatives from Apollo Music.

You can get your tickets to the event from the NGS website.

Housemarque 20th Anniversary Celebration

Even though the IGDA season is over, the game industry keeps on partying. Last Wednesday Housemarque celebrated its 20th anniversary, where more than 400 game developers and their friends gathered to congratulate one of the oldest game companies in Finland!

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Housemarque prepared surprises for their guests: Consoles and PCs with studio's games were available for all guests, the various dishes offered were named after studio’s games. The CEO, Ilari Kuittinen welcomed everyone to the anniversary and started a party by showing recap videos of Housemarque games and company history (including the very special, previously unseen ones!). Finnish attendees were excited about the epic appearance of Apulanta (a Finnish rock band which was popular some years ago, as my Finnish friends told me). Marioke was the last surprise Housemarque prepared for the guests: Karaoke as usual, except that all the lyrics had been changed to game-related texts, for example "You are simply Tempest" or "Monkey Target".

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If you didn’t get a chance to visit the celebration, you can check out photos and videos in various social media with the hashtag #hmq20. Also, here is a link to Facebook albums from the event: https://www.facebook.com/Housemarque/photos

Thanks Housemarque for a great evening!

Photos by Sami Välikangas.

Pelialan järjestöt tuomitsevat pelikehittäjiin ja pelaajiin kohdistuvan häirinnän

Suomen pelinkehittäjät ry, IGDA Finland ry ja Neogames Finland ry tuomitsevat kaikenlaisen pelinkehittäjiin ja pelaajiin kohdistuvan häirinnän. Järjestöt ovat järkyttyneitä viimeaikaisista tappouhkauksista ja pelinkehittäjiin sekä pelaajiin kohdistuvasta vainoamisesta. Kansallisten viranomaisten on tehtävä kaikkensa puuttuakseen myös verkkoympäristössä kaikkiin rikoksen tunnusmerkit täyttäviin tekoihin. Suomeen on onnistuttu rakentamaan tiivis pelialan yhteisö ja järjestöt jatkavat työtään sen kehittämiseksi entistäkin moninaisemmaksi, jotta Suomen asema maailman parhaana paikkana kehittää pelejä vahvistuu entisestään. Osana tätä työtä järjestöt ovat sitoutuneet tukemaan kaikin käytettävissä olevin voimavaroinensa mahdollisten hyökkäysten kohteeksi joutuvia jäseniään. Järjestöt pyytävätkin jäseniään raportoimaan heille kaikenlaisesta heihin kohdistuvasta häirinnästä ja vainoamisesta mahdollisia jatkotoimenpiteitä varten.

Miikka Lyytikäinen Puheenjohtaja, Suomen pelinkehittäjät ry.

Jyri Partanen Puheenjohtaja, IGDA Finland ry.

Koopee Hiltunen Johtaja, Neogames Finland ry.


In English:

Finnish games industry associations condemn recent online harassment in global game community

Finnish games industry associations Suomen pelinkehittäjät, IGDA Finland and Neogames Finland, condemn all harassment in the global game community. We are deeply shocked by the recent death threats and harassment towards game developers as well as gamers, and underline that authorities should do all they can to stop this kind of criminal activity in the online environment.

For years we have been building an inclusive industry community in Finland. We continue our work on supporting its growth in an even more plural direction in order to secure that Finland will remain the leading game industry hotspot in the future. Consequently, we are prepared to use all our available resources to support anyone targeted by this kind of attacks in our community. For this reason, we kindly ask all our members to report any kind of harassment to us so that we can provide our help.

Industry Partner Interview with G-Cluster

GCluster

IGDA Finland has grown its ranks with new industry partners like Lexia and Amazon Web Services. One of the newcomers is also G-Cluster. We wanted to find out a little bit more about this cloud gaming platform provider and ask how they want to be a part of the Finnish game industry growth.

_MG_0445_dxoV2s Here is our interview with President & Representative Director of G-Cluster, Erik Piehl.

What are the three most important facts that people should know about G-Cluster? 1. Cloud gaming enables users of virtually any connected screen to experience great games. G-cluster is the leading cloud gaming platform provider. 2. Our platform enables telecom and other service operators to provide a cloud gaming channel to their end users. 3. G-cluster is a turnkey provider of cloud gaming: we have technology, licensed content and operations.

What differentiates your product from competitors’? G-cluster is already deployed globally: in Europe with Orange and SFR, in Japan with NTT Plala and Broadmedia and in the U.S. with a not yet disclosed tier-1 partner.

What are your different target groups and how are they different from each other? Our primary target groups are children, the female audience and people who used to be gamers. Our content catalogue has various games targeting these groups, supported typically by different price points.

About 78 % of the 1.2 billion gamers around the world play mobile games (Applift & Newzoo market research: http://www.applift.com/the-global-mobile-games-market.html). How do you think the mobile games market is different from other games markets? The mobile game market is unique in many ways: through app stores it has democratized the publishing ability of developers and thus challenged the role of traditional publishers. Mobile games market has introduced new low price points (even free) that we did not see in the past. For content developers it present new challenges and opportunities in that the audience is much wider and respectively the expected attention span of a game a lot shorter than in other gaming markets.

The cloud gaming market is expected to reach 8 billion by the year 2017. How does G-Cluster feel about this growth? We are already part of the growth of the cloud gaming market. 8 billion by 2017 is a huge and great goal. We see the market changing and picking up interest currently in an unprecedented way.

What made you decide to become an IGDA Finland Industry Partner? We have deals in place with about 40 game publishers worldwide. Since a lot of our DNA is coming from Finland, we want to have closer relationships with Finnish game companies and G-cluster better known in its birth country.

What is going to be the role of G-Cluster in developing and growing the Finnish games industry? We want to contribute to the boom of Finnish game industry by providing a new global distribution channel for games created in Finland. G-cluster desires to have games specifically created for our platform exploiting its unique features such as the support for multiple screens, and thus we believe there are new exciting opportunities for creative game design with us.

For more information check out G-Cluster’s website www.g-cluster.com

Editor: Tuuli Peltonen