2006 will be pivotal year for the future of the games industry - Develop survey

July 7th, 2006, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster

Strategic decisions made this year could have a fundamental effect on the future of the games industry, according to a survey conducted by organisers of the Develop Conference and Expo.

Tandem Events surveyed 70 industry professionals due to speak at next week's event to gauge opinion on current development strategy and the challenges facing the industry as a result of the current hardware transition.

"The survey highlighted that 2006 is requiring a number of senior managers to make some crucial decisions," commented event director Andy Lane.

"Over half of the respondents said that strategic directions taken in 2006 will have fundamental implications to the long term future of their businesses."

The imminent launch of both Nintendo and Sony's next-gen consoles offers a wealth of opportunity for the development community, but there are also a number of obstacles to overcome, not least in terms of financing the substantial increase in development costs.

"Many of the sessions at the Develop conference have been designed to help the industry focus on the fundamental topics that are affecting the industry and give developers an alternative input into their decision making process," Lane added.

"What’s really impressive is that over 85 per cent still found the industry exciting to be in, and wouldn’t change their jobs. There simply aren’t that many industries where that level of passion exists."

Scheduled to run over three days from 11th-13th July, The Develop Conference and Expo will feature more than 70 industry speakers and over 40 companies from around the world.

The conference will include 47 sessions, with tracks covering coding, design, art, audio, business and next wave. Confirmed speakers include Chris Deering, Phil Harrison, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Peter Molyneux, Mark Rein, Andrew Oliver, Miles Jacobson, Jonathan Smith and many more.

Attendees will also be granted free access to the IGDA workshop, Develop Mobile conference, Serious Games workshop, an ATI developer day and the Develop Industry Excellence Awards.

Full details on the programme of events, confirmed speakers and exhibitors and registration information can be found by visiting the official Develop Conference website.

Via GiBiz

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