acrofan

Industry Economy TECH GAME
Society Comfort AUTO MEDIA

G-Star 2019 : Global Game Exhibition for the Whole Family, Has Successfully Ended

  • Friday, November 29, 2019, 9:20 pm
  • ACROFAN=Jae-Yong Ryu
  • jaeyong.ryu@acrofan.com
Hosted by the Korea Association of Game Industry (K-GAMES) and co-hosted by the G-Star Organizing Committee and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, G-Star 2019 was held in BEXCO for four days from November 14(Thu) to 17(Sun).

The event attracted visitors who visited the exhibition hall by combining famous hits enjoyed by a number of game users from all over the world and the expected new works by the participating companies.

First, Supercell, who participated as a diamond sponsor, was a mainstay of the exhibition of 'G-Star 2019' by extensively introducing 'Brawl Stars', which is popular in the global market and loved by domestic users.

The platinum sponsor, Krafton/PUBG Corporation artistically showed the moments with fans under the theme of 'FACE: PUBG' at the BTC Pavilion, and demonstrated Krafton's identity through a large experiential booth that expresses the diversity and individuality of the Krafton Alliance outdoors.

▲ The global game fair 'G-Star 2019' concluded the official four-day schedule.

▲ The ideal public-private cooperation helped the event safely end on a large scale.

New games and related information of each company also increased the heat at the site. Pearl Abyss released four new collections including collective MMO ‘DokeV’, shooting genre ‘PLAN 8’, MMORPG ‘Crimson Desert’, and action battle royal ‘Shadow Arena’. Pearl Abyss first released four new titles on a global live broadcast and communicated with users through various game experiences and events.

Netmarble attracted the attention of visitors by exhibiting 'A3: Still Alive', and also released '30 Player Battle Royal' and a 'Three-man Team Match’ for the first time.

This year, 'G-Star' received a lot of acclaim from the e-sports program held in and out of the exhibition hall following last year. The auditorium was literally full of game fans who wanted to see the global e-sports competition, 'Brawl Stars World Final’. At the BTC exhibition hall, ardent cheering was held in booths such as AfreecaTV, Angel Games, X.D Global Limited. At the outdoor event plaza, Busan University e-sports club competition hosted by Busan Metropolitan City and run by Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency was held.

Various events using game contents also caught the attention of visitors who visited the G-Star. Participation programs such as 'Cosplay Awards', 'Cosplay Experience', 'Creator Talk Show', and 'BJ Busking Performance' on the outdoor event plaza and the event road (car-free street) played a big role in capturing the eyes and ears of visitors.

As part of the win-win project of G-Star indie game developers, 'G-Star Indie Showcase' was held for the first time by 29 developers. As well as general users, BTB attendees also received a lot of attention. At the event, which was scored with 100% user rating, ‘ReRoad’ of Rabbit Hall Games and ‘Ratropolis’ of Cassel Games took first and second place respectively.

The number of visitors who visited ‘G-Star 2019’ for 4 days was 42,452 on November 14th(Thur), 50,216 on 15th(Fri), 90,234 on 16th(Sat), and 61,407 on 17th(Sun). The total number was 244,309 (estimated) by 5PM on the last day. This is an increase of about 3.9% compared to the previous year (235,133).

The number of paid buyers who visited the BTB Pavilion (November 14-16) at the 2nd exhibition hall of BEXCO was 2,040 on the 1st day, 269 on the 2nd day, and 127 on the 3rd day. The total number was 2,436 which increased by 12.3% compared to the previous year (2,169).

The official side events have expanded its influence with G-Star's main programs. The International Game Conference (G-CON) held 34 sessions (4 keynotes and 30 general sessions), which was significantly increased compared to last year. G-CON has stood as the main figure of the official side events with 4,733 attendees (2,298 on the 1st day, 2,435 on the 2nd day) for two days.

The conference was held for two days with various topics with the best speakers from home and abroad, including CEO Jenova Chen of thatgamecompany which developed ‘Sky’ and ‘Journey’, CEO Koji Igarashi who is father of ‘Castlevania’ series, CEO Hilmar Petursson of CCP Games which developed ‘Eve Online’, Director Janos Gaspar and Pawel Wojs who made ‘Total War: Three Kingdoms’, CEO Kim Hyung-tae of Shift Up, and a comic artist Yang Young-soon of the webtoon ‘Denma’.

As for 'Game Investment Market', which was prepared to support the development of excellent contents and investment attraction of small and medium game developers in Korea, a total of 59 companies (35 developers, 5 investment companies, 19 publishers) participated in the market and a total of 110 investment consultations were conducted.

At 'Game Company Job Fair,' which provides career opportunities and exchanges career information for the game industry, 17 companies such as Neowiz, Pearl Abyss, NHN Starfish, ROVIO, and NEXT GAMES attended and 1,053 job seekers visited to have interviews and career talks.

▲ It is basic that many students visit the event after CSAT. Also, the number of 20s, 30s and family visitors has increased rapidly.

▲ Only with queues for a mobile ticket, the entire 1st exhibition hall was covered. In order to continue this momentum and to grow at future events, various new challenges were created.

Kang Shin-cheol, Chairman of the G-Star Organizing Committee, said, “This year, 'G-Star' had meaningful results such as a global game company in charge of the main sponsor for two consecutive years, and new exhibitors presented a new way to enjoy G-Star as a main character. I would like to express my deep appreciation to the audience and the game industry that are always with warm interest and affection. I will work hard to make G-Star reflect the latest industry trends and become a festival that encompasses all cultural events that can be done with games.”