Get Ready to Play: gamescom asia Unveils Publisher Lineup and Key Entertainment Zone Highlights

Hi Huneybees,

With under a month to gamescom asia 2023 (happening from 20 - 22 October 2023 at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre), tickets to the first gamescom asia Entertainment Zone are already released for sales together with the unveiling of an expanded publisher lineup.

gamescom asia aims to serve as the premier platform for Asian game developers to explore partnerships globally, and act as a hub for international publishers who are looking for the next big thing in games. The Asia satellite event of gamescom, the world’s largest computer and video games festival, trade visitors and consumers can expect industry-specific insights and reveals, while new releases and gaming-related offerings will be showcased. The event will include a trade and public exhibition, trade conference and several programmes for the public. Online shows PRIMETIME and STUDIO will be held on 19 and 22 October for global fans.

4Divinity, Arc System Works, Epicsoft Asia, Make Waves, Neopets, PlayStation, and Ubisoft are among the latest publishers and companies to confirm their participation. Organisers also shared highlights of what to expect at the physical B2C Entertainment Zone exhibition area, from Main Stage performances to new zones within the Entertainment Zone.

 

Expect an electrifying line-up on the Entertainment Zone Main Stage with concerts, behind-the-scenes talks with acclaimed game producers, dedicated Meet & Greet with special guests, Cosplay Fashion Show and more. Visitors interested in the classics can check out the Retro Games Zone, try out the latest games library at the Board Games Zone, and demo quirky and unique indie games from around the world within the Indie Zone.

Gaming heavyweights to anchor gamescom asia

The event will see a - line-up of the world’s most influential gaming publishers. From trying out game demos to battling it out with the latest gaming hardware and the hottest games, industry professionals and public alike can look forward to being among the first to experience widely-anticipated games firsthand and immerse in the thrill and excellence in esports tournaments.

4Divinity and Epicsoft Asia will present a series of exciting action-packed titles, including the much-anticipated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl which will be released in Q1 2024. gamescom asia attendees will get to trial a timed demo and stand to win a full copy of ENDLESS™ Dungeon, a new tactical action game set to launch on 19 October 2023. Fans can also try out Atomic Heart and the Annihilation Instinct DLC, all while playing in comfort in Martiangear gaming chairs.

Ubisoft celebrates its 15th anniversary in Singapore this year, and will showcase 2 titles: Assassin’s Creed® Mirage as well as Skull and BonesTM. gamescom asia attendees can speak with studio representatives and recruitment teams, and immerse themselves in an art exhibition featuring both games.

Make Waves, developer and publisher of VR games and educational apps, will showcase 3 exciting VR titles in development – Sky Strikers, Slam City, and Star Legacy, and a mobile puzzle-solver Other Side of Mist and Mountain. All games showcased will be playable in early access, at the event grounds. This is the first time these titles have been showcased at a convention.

More game titles available for play from Capcom, PlayStation, Arc System Works, and more will be announced closer to date.

Exciting Main Stage Shows and Meet & Greets

From guest appearances to performances and entertainment, an exciting programme line-up awaits at the Entertainment Zone Main Stage. Attendees can revel in the music of Gerard Marino’s electrifying live performance, get up close with the voice actors of ‘Honkai: Star Rail’ characters and get a chance to snag some official Honkai freebies, and discover the behind-the-scenes technical magic of Ubisoft’s ‘Skull and Bones’. 

Check out the craft of cosplay in the gamescom asia Cosplay Fashion Show – Walk of Valor and Might, held in collaboration with Singapore Cosplay Club. SuperFans ticket holders will be treated to a performance by PLAYERTWO in partnership with Warner Music on 20 October 2023.

Get up close with star cosplayers and voice actors in Meet and Greet sessions on 21 and 22 October at the Meet & Greet Zone. Say hi to cosplayers and content creators Kitz Cua (@kitzcua) and Charess Mabia (@charechii), as well as voice actors from Honkai: Star Rail (Su Ling Chan, Craig Lee Thomas, Molly Zhang and Emily Sun) and Street Fighter 6 (Faye Mata).

Something for everyone, including the family

New zones will be available to entertain and offer hands-on sessions for both online and tabletop games alike – the Retro Games Zone by Retro City, the Board Games Zone by Origame and the Indie Zone by Indie Wavemakers.

Get a chance to play more than 30 games from indie studios from across the world at the Indie Zone by Indie Wavemakers, sponsored by Xbox. Check out the creative work of independent game developers with their own perspectives on games. 

Attendees can embrace the golden era of video games with Retro City’s exciting pop-up experience. The Retro Games Zone will showcase custom arcade and pinball machines featuring a myriad of iconic games, as well as activities such as learning how to craft your very own home arcade machine with the help of Retrocade. For a lucky SuperFan, there’ll be a chance to bring home a custom gamescom asia x Retro City Arcade Console, as well as other exciting prizes.

Roll a dice across the table and embark on an unforgettable journey into the world of board gaming with Origame at gamescom asia’s Board Games Zone. Highlights include The Asian Board Game Festival board game library, with over 100 titles of curated board games from all over Asia, as well as game demos from Origame and other popular games from independent Asian board game studios.

For the online audience, tune in to the annual streams for PRIMETIME on 19 October in the evening and STUDIO on 22 October for a half day of extended content, games showcase, and features.

Tickets start from SGD 19 for a single day entry, and can be purchased online via this link. Click here for an overview of the happenings within the Entertainment Zone. Programme schedule will also be released closer to the event.

 

Limited SuperFan tickets are available to purchase till 19 October or until sold out. Access to the Zone on 20 October is available only to SuperFan ticketholders. All other public ticket categories can access the event on Saturday 21 October and/or Sunday 22 October.

 

Registration for trade and industry members is open at this link.

For more information and the latest updates, visit gamescom.asia or follow gamescom asia on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Discord, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 

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gamescom asia announces inaugural physical B2C Entertainment Zone with first partner Capcom onboard

Hi Huneybees,

gamescom asia that's happening in Singapore from 19–22 October 2023 will host a physical B2C Entertainment Zone exhibition for the first time, with an expanded Trade Zone for B2B for this 2023 edition. 

This only satellite event of the world’s largest video games festival, gamescom, will have a trade and public exhibition, trade conference, and several programs for the public. Online shows PRIMETIME and STUDIO will also return on 19 and 22 October for all fans.

Capcom is the first major publisher to confirm its participation, kickstarting the B2C Entertainment Zone. Xsolla, AWS for Games, Unlimit, and Worldline have been cemented as sponsors within the B2B Trade Zone, with more to follow. Exhibitors and Pavilions from countries and regions such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong S.A.R., Taiwan, Canada, Israel, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America are also on board. gamescom asia 2023 is expected to attract over 30,000 visitors and over 150 exhibitors as the Entertainment Zone exhibition opens its doors to the public this year. 

“We are extremely excited to open the Entertainment Zone onsite to the public for the first time this year. We know it has been long anticipated by passionate fans and gamers and we look forward to welcoming them to gamescom asia. As the team works to put up a good show this year with new highlights and expanded mainstays, we invite companies to join us and make gamescom asia the premier Southeast Asian destination to showcase and testbed their games, latest gaming products and services, and reach an audience that is unique to the region.” --- Mathias Kuepper, Managing Director and Vice President Asia-Pacific of Koelnmesse Pte Ltd, the organiser of gamescom asia. 

Let the Games Begin with the New Physical B2C Entertainment Zone 

The Entertainment Zone will welcome visitors from 20 - 22 October (with 20 October open to business visitors and a limited number of pre-registered fans only), with a showcase of trending games, interactive entertainment, and featured areas like indies, esports, cosplay, boardgames, group play zones, and more. 

Visitors can lay their hands on games by their favourite publishers and indie studios, watch live stage entertainment, and come dressed up as their favourite game characters. There will also be a designated food alley to fuel up, while merchandise from the latest games and classics will be available for purchase. 

Online shows PRIMETIME and STUDIO will return, on 19 October and 22 October respectively, with sneak peeks and other extended content for global audiences. An all-new Indie Wavemakers area will open in both the Entertainment and Trade Zone of the exhibition for studios and developers looking for publishers and investors, as well as valuable gamer feedback and testing on their new releases and demos. 

Indie exhibitors can also share about their games on the Indie Wavemakers Live Stage at gamescom asia. In partnership with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), gamescom asia will also recognize the SEA Game Awards winners at the event for the first time. The awards aim to recognize and celebrate the creativity, artistry, and technical genius of the finest game developers from the Southeast Asian and International video game industry. Award winners will be announced at MYDCF 2023 (Malaysia Digital Content Festival) on 29 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will receive further recognition at gamescom asia 2023. 

At the Heart of Gaming Business with a Bigger and Better Trade Zone 

gamescom asia’s Trade Zone consists of the Trade Zone Exhibition and Trade Conference on 19 and 20 October. 

The Trade Zone exhibition will be open to all Trade visitors and conference delegates and will feature Expo Stage talks, networking & recharge zones, esports zone as well as the all-new Indie Wavemakers area. Country pavilions and booths from gaming companies and service providers will showcase the latest games and services to publishers, investors and IP owners who are looking for the next big thing in games. 

Over 80 industry experts will present in person at the Trade Conference. With three extended tracks across 19 and 20 October, the conference will cover the latest gaming trends, as well as tried-and-true games design, business, and marketing principles. Content creators, KOLs, and influencers in gaming can glean insights and up their game in the new Content Creators Summit, held on 20 October.

Conference delegates will have access to all content as well as networking sessions like the official conference networking reception and will be able to apply for the Developers-Publishers-Investors Speed Networking session. 

Confirmed speakers include: 

● CD PROJEKT RED (Poland) - Kacper Niepokólczycki, Lead Environment Artist 

● Focus Entertainment (France) - Xavier Marot, Chief Production Officer 

● LightSpeed Studios (China) - Yang Chao, Expert Researcher 

● Mojang Studios (Sweden) - Nickole Li, Principal Designer (Systems) 

● SUNSOFT (Japan) - Yuichi Ochi, General Manager 

● Team17 Digital (UK) - Jasper Barnes, Head of Game Scouting 

● Techland (Poland) - Tymon Smektała, Dying Light Franchise Director 

● Ubisoft (Singapore) - Bill Money, Game Director and many more. 

Check out the latest list of speakers and agenda here.

Event Details

● The official B2B networking app for the gamescom asia, gamescom, and devcom communities will be on gamescom biz once again, accessible by all gamescom asia registered exhibitors and industry visitors. 

● gamescom asia 2023 is a ticketed event, tickets and Registration Tickets for the public will open from end-July. 

● Registration for trade and industry members are already open at this link. 

Companies who wish to exhibit in both Trade and Entertainment Zones can apply here. 

● For more information and the latest updates, visit gamescom.asia or follow gamescom asia on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Discord, TikTok, and LinkedIn. 

 

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GameStart 2018 Is Back Bigger & More Immersive For Gamers

Hi Huneybees,

GameStart 2018 is back! *Bim! Bam! Bom!* The yearly game expo is now back bigger and stronger with the growing population of gamers. Casual gamers or hardcore gamers will have their fair share of fun and gaming this 13 & 14 October 2018.

This year, GameStart plans to more actively provide opportunities to level up skills and knowledge for aspiring gaming professionals and the local gaming scene. As it marks its 5th anniversary, the convention will be bringing in international gaming stars and experts in its most star-studded lineup to date. there's so much more to experience and share about the gaming sphere, Hubby and I are all set and geared up for GameStart.

The first thing that's got us all hyped up already is the pre-order sale of the Lego DC Super-Villains game. It's available for XONE, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC, set to release on 17th Oct at GameStart. You can pre-order it and it comes with an exclusive Lex Luthor Lego figure dresse
d as Superman all at SGD$74.90.


We've been on Mario and Overcooked 'diet' eversince we got the Nintendo Switch and we can't wait to start on a new game, especially when this time, we are playing as the villains and not the heroes! Something else, that's special about the game is also you can fully customise your main character. I wonder how I will be creating my character!!! 

I tried the gameplay during the press conference and it was very immersive gaming into the Lego-verse. For those who are Lego fans, I think the Lex Luthor Superman is a must-get...

Next, is something new to GameStart. There will be Masterclasses prior to the actual expo dates, where international experts are brought in to conduct specialised seminars and share their work experiences. The classes are suitable for art students and artists looking to level up their skills.

A collaboration with long time content partner, video production company No Average Joe (NAJ), the series aims to bring fun and educational sessions to GameStart, providing visitors with more hands-on activities and learning experiences. 2018’s workshops includes RetroCade, a workshop whereby visitors get to build their own mini arcade machine, as well as a fun animation workshop by local artists Nanimonda and Naoki.

More on GameStart Workshops are available at - https://gamestart.asia/events/lessons-by-no-average-joe/.

Masterclass by Jax Jocson - 10 October

Character Design: Introduction to Visual Storytelling

Jacqueline Jocson is an Art Director & Concept Artist specializing in design and storytelling. Over the past decade, Jacqueline has worked in film, game, VR/AR, television, advertising, and IP creation for the past decade with clients such as Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, SyFy Channel, Digital Domain, Super Evil Megacorp, and Psyop.

Learn how to create iconic and memorable characters through effective visual communication from Jacqueline. More info - https://gamestart.asia/events/masterclass-by-jax-jocson/

Masterclass by Carlo Arellano - 12 October

Archetypes in Advanced Character Design

Carlo has provided concepts, textures and models for many Video Game projects including: World of Warcraft, Ratchet and Clank, Resistance, and God of War.

Pick up essential skills on how to create powerful and provocative characters for film and games from the Art Director of Super Evil Megacorp. By using proportion, form, storytelling, color and focused design creation rather than sprawling ideation, the student is shown the how to create strong archetypes which resonate with the viewer. The student is given tools to communicate important storytelling ideas and skills to create production ready concepts which take into account not only artistic concerns but pipeline, animation and gameplay needs. More info - https://gamestart.asia/events/masterclass-by-carlo-arellano/

As I'm writing this blog post, I'm using a brand new mouse that you can get exclusively at GameStart for S$29.90 and included in all GameStart 2018 VIP goodie bags. This is a special 5th anniversary collaboration of GameStarta nd fellow Singaporean gaming gear brand Armaggeddon.

The Limited Edition GameStart X Armaggeddon Gaming Mouse features high performance tracking speed of up to 160 inches per second, 5 button + 2-way click scroll, 6,000 frame rate and 7-colour lighting with pulsating effects, definitely a colourful addition to the gaming table and do look out for promotions at their booth!

 

As like previous years, there will also be international Gaming Stars and Heavyweights gracing the Convention. Motohiro Okubo, Producer of hotly-anticipated game SOULCALIBUR VI, will be at GameStart on 13 October to meet fans and share more about the game, which launches just one week after the event. 

Fans of Capcom’s highly popular action role-playing game MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD™ can look forward to meeting and hearing from Kaname Fujioka (Executive Director/Art Director) and Yuya Tokuda(Director) from the game’s development team on 14 October.

Celebrity gamer and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega #KennyOmega will be at GameStart 2018. In addition to being a commentator at Sea Major 2018, Kenny will also hold a Meet & Greet session with fans on October 13.

Fans of Overwatch, Elise Zhang, the voice actor, best known as “Mei” in Overwatch will be doing Meet-and-Greet sessions during the 2 days and also catch her on stage Sunday, 14th October at 5:30pm. Being a Chinese voice actor, she dubbed for Mei in both English an Mandarin version, and Symmetra in Mandarin version. She is also Lily in Heroes of the Storm, and Alleria Windrunner in HearthStone. 

Details of the guests are available at https://gamestart.asia/events/guests/

Lastly, the main event!

SEA Major 2018, Singapore’s longest-running esports tournament, will play host to tournaments for 10 games with a prize pool of USD 50,000 up for grabs. Singapore’s longest-running esports tournament will see more than 200 international competitors in Singapore for the weekend, including top professional esports athletes from Japan, America and Europe.

Star players will also be in town during the GameStart weekend. Eagle-eyed fans are in for a treat to catch some of the world’s most famous professional esports players in Singapore. They include Japan’s legend Daigo Umehara: 梅原大吾 , who will be competing in Street Fighter V at Sea Major 2018, reigning Street Fighter V SEA Major Champion Tokido, top female Tekken 7 player and Red Bull sponsored Athlete Tanukana, homegrown esports hero Ho Kun Xian and America’s renowned competitive fighting game player and multi-game Champion Justin Wong. Please refer to Annex for a list of selected pro gamers at GameStart 2018. 

Renowned tournament commentators include BlessRNG, well-known Australian streamer and personality who has his own emoticon on streaming platform Twitch; and “Tasty Steve” Steve Scott, “Markman” Mark Julio and “Sajam” Stephen Lyon from America.

SEA Major & SEA Mobile Major Tournaments include:

• Capcom Pro Tour Asia Last Chance Qualifier & Regional Finals - The region’s top 8 players come to compete for USD 30,000 and qualifying points to the Capcom Cup in December 2018.
• ArcRevo World Tour - The only Asian stop of Arc System Works’ new global league, outside of Japan. Winners get a slot and paid trip to compete in the World Finals.
• Tekken World Tour Master Event - A key stop in Bandai Namco Entertainment’s global esports league.
• Dragonball FighterZ SAGA - One of just 7 SAGA events in the world, the winner gets a paid trip to compete in the global finals.
• Shadowverse SEAO Contenders Cup - The inaugural regional finals of Japan’s #1 digital card game for the Southeast Asia & Oceania (SEAO) region. The winner will get a paid trip to compete for a USD 1 million cash prize in the World Grand Prix in December 2018.

Phew! Ain't that a mouthful of information? Well, there's even more to expect since it's the 5th Anniversary and over the years, the GameStart team has built networks and bridges not just across the local gaming industry, but also internationally. GameStart this year added 2 new partnerships with Korean Indie Game event BIC Fest, and Indonesia’s Game Prime, so their local developers can showcase their games to Singapore & Southeast Asian audiences, and Singapore developers will be able to exhibit in Korea and Indonesia respectively. 

GameStart also renewed its partnership with Taipei Game Show for the 4th year, and will host Taiwanese indie developers at GameStart 2018. The GameStart Indie Award provides winners with a paid trip and booth to exhibit at Taipei Game Show 2019, in addition to a prize of a WACOM interactive pen tablet.

There's so much more to explore and there will also be some special announcements from exhibiors and partners during the weekend, be there to catch them first. I will also be updating more, so stay tuned!

GameStart 2018 will be held on 13 & 14 October 2018 at Suntec Convention Halls 401 - 403. GameStart Masterclasses will be held on 10 and 12 October 2018 at TreeTop @ *SCAPE. More information and the latest updates on GameStart 2018 are available on www.gamestart.asia, and www.facebook.com/GameStart.Asia.

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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