GDC Europe 2010 to Host 'Focus: The Nordic Region,' Showcasing the Talents, Advantages and Opportunities in Denmark, Norway and Sweden

ONLINE REGISTRATION CLOSES ON THURSDAY, 8/12

BERLIN, August 10, 2010 - UBM TechWeb Game Network, organizers of the leading Game Developers
Conference(R) series (GDC), have announced "Focus: The Nordic Region" to
showcase the technological and creative talents of that established region as
part of a new series of events during the 2010 Game Developers Conference
Europe(TM) (GDC Europe) shedding light on regions or countries that are
important for the games industry or promise new business opportunities.
"Focus: The Nordic Region" will bring to light the technical expertise,
technological versatility and creative vision that have helped nurture the
Nordic region into becoming a powerful center for international game
development. "Focus: The Nordic Region" will address the vast pools of
talent, exciting opportunities and challenges found in regional game
development during GDC Europe, which returns to Cologne, Germany on August
16-18, 2010 for three days of learning, networking, and inspiration. For more
information and to register online for GDC Europe visit:
www.gdceurope.com. Online registration for GDC Europe closes on
Thursday, 8/12.

Every year, the regional "Focus" series will present one or two regions
or countries that are important for the worldwide games industry and offer
promising opportunities for developers and publishers. In addition to the
Nordic Region, Game Developers Conference Europe will also be drawing
attention to Russia as an up-and-coming segment of the game development world
in a series called "Focus: Russia." This event will offer insights into how
the Russian game development scene, which has a current market volume of 820
million US dollars, gained prominence through Tetris and was further
legitimized by the popularity of casual gaming. During the premiere this
August, GDC Europe will hold these two events to analyze the current changes
in the Nordic and Russian markets, present important players and creative
trends as well as new business concepts and opportunities for cooperation.

The Nordic region has enjoyed a long history of talented and creative
developers, with a community that is diverse in their fields of expertise,
creating titles for a multitude of platforms, including PC, console,
handhelds, as well as all mobile phone, online, and set-top devices. Beyond
game development, the Nordic region has also contributed greatly to the
technical craft of game development, with companies like Hansoft (from
Sweden), IGIOS (Finland), Illuminate Labs (Sweden), and Unity (Denmark)
contributing to a range of middleware software. With a swath of comprehensive
public services, including robust universal social and health support
systems, free university education and among the highest broadband
penetration in the West, the countries that compose the Nordic and
Scandinavian region (including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and
Greenland), have been recognized as one of the most connected regions of the
world. This technological infrastructure has enabled the Nordic region to
maintain a healthy game development community, which houses more than 270
game studios, and a total of more than 3,500 professional game developers,
which eclipses the number of professional game developers in France and
Germany (2,500 and 2,900, respectively).

In terms of creative design, "Focus: The Nordic Region" will include
sessions from esteemed game development studios including Playdead, creators
of the visionary and foreboding puzzle-platformer, LIMBO, as well as a
session from IO Interactive, creators of the intense and gritty Hitman and
Kane & Lynch franchises. In their session, Jeppe Carlsen, the game and level
designer behind LIMBO, will describe the design principles used in the game
to balance accessibility, difficulty, learning by dying and fun. In IO
Interactive's session, art director Rasmus Poulsen will explain how his
company has continued to make character and atmosphere-rich titles, and how
the exploration for "realism" had sparked a fresh artistic vision in
producing the distinctive look to Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.

"The Game Developers Conference Europe is an event open to all
international developers from all regions, we're happy to see the event
flourish as esteemed voices from the Nordic and Russian regions offer their
wisdom on two important regions for game developers," says Frank Sliwka, GDC
director. "The 'Focus' series is one of the many important components that
make GDC Europe an essential and complete event for industry professionals to
learn and refine their approach to making and publishing games worldwide."

For more information and to register online for GDC Europe visit:
www.gdceurope.com. Online registration for GDC Europe closes on
Thursday, 8/12.

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Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards.

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    MEDIA CONTACT:

             Brian Rubin
             fortyseven communications
             +1-212-391-4707
             brian@fortyseven.com

             Susanne Tenzler-Heusler, Europe
             +49(0)173-3786601
             kontakt@brandvorwerk-pr.de

    GDC EUROPE CONTACT:

             Frank Sliwka, VP European Business Development
             +49(0)171-1288898
             frank.sliwka@ubm.com

             Ben Veechai, North America
             +1-415-947-6280
             ben.veechai@ubm.com

Brian Rubin of fortyseven communications, +1-212-391-4707, brian at fortyseven.com; or Susanne Tenzler-Heusler, Europe, +49 (0)173-3786601, kontakt at brandvorwerk-pr.de; or GDC EUROPE CONTACT, Frank Sliwka, VP European Business Development, +49 (0)171-1288898, frank.sliwka at ubm.com, or Ben Veechai, North America, +1-415-947-6280, ben.veechai at ubm.com