EVENT PREVIEW - GAMEHOTEL AT GDC, SAN JOSE

Following the massive success of Season One, GAMEHOTEL's flagship event heads into Season Two with a blast. As a new add-on to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose (the world’s largest trade event exclusively devoted to game creation), the vibrant two-hour show is set to provide even more fun, more fresh ideas and a deeper understanding of games as a driving force of today’s pop culture.

From Asia's wildest urban vinyl designers to MTV Best Music Award-winning directors and an all-star line-up of game visionaries from Japan, Europe, and the US - all will come together in a vibrant setting, as GAMEHOTEL once again plays host to an intoxicating cocktail of luminaries from inside and outside the games industry.

Bigger (yet retaining it’s trademark intimacy) and more intense and colorful than ever, GAMEHOTEL continues to cultivate its unique spirit and the exceptional mixture of games and digital pop culture that has made it “the symbol of future events on video games.”

RICH AND DIVERSE FUTURE
As a new addition to the Game Developers Conference in San Jose (the world’s largest trade event exclusively devoted to game creation), GAMEHOTEL spotlights the intense desire of industry players as well as a growing audience, for a rich and diverse future of interactive entertainment. Expect a refreshing and exuberant show chock full of highlights, screenings, talks and showcases – as well as a whole lot of fun. You’ll walk away from GAMEHOTEL with your brain bursting with fresh ideas and a deeper understanding of games as a driving force of today’s pop culture.

The stellar lineup includes Sony Computer Entertainment’s Executive Vice President, Development, Phil Harrison; French MTV Best Music Award-winning directors, the brilliant Alaux, Houplain and de Crécy from H5; game designer legend Tetsuya Mizuguchi; hyper-active Tokyo pop designer collective FuriFuri; game designer and master of eccentric excellence Masaya Matsuura; up-and-coming wireless game studio Newtgames; plus a new edition of GAMEHOTEL's popular Designer Toy Showcase featuring urban vinyl figures by the likes of Michael Lau, Eric So, Brothersfree, and other Hong Kong designer stars (see below for full lineup details).

DRIVING FORCE OF POP CULTURE
“Like a shining star in the games sky we want GAMEHOTEL to continue to point the direction to an opening up, to a continuing renewal of the games medium that we feel so strongly about”, says Bruno Beusch, director of organizing TNC Network, and host of the GAMEHOTEL extravaganza. “GAMEHOTEL SEASON TWO will keep on drawing the roadmap of the future of interactive entertainment by connecting people and communities, who have tended to evolve in separate spheres.”

Journalists from international media outlets, including TV stations, mainstream and specialized press titles, described GAMEHOTEL SEASON ONE in glowing terms: “A great evening on digital pop culture” - French newspaper Libération. “Fun, relaxation, and intelligent discourse; a much needed counter-balance to the industry’s play-it-safe agenda” - Xbox Nation, San Francisco. A “symbol of future events on video games” - Yahoo. “Gamehotel offers moments of rare cultural insights. A valuable and enduring achievement. Refreshing and exuberant” - Edge Magazine, London. “Visions of the most innovative trends in interactive entertainment” - Joypad Magazine, Paris. Zurich-based newspaper Sonntagszeitung simply christened it “the hotel of the game Industry,” French magazine Télérama called it the place “where you discover tomorrow’s games and digital heroes.”

“The focus of GAMEHOTEL Season Two was shaped in many discussions with game developers, digital pop culture pundits, and industry people around the world,” says GAMEHOTEL producer Tina Cassani. “These mind-provoking exchanges have drawn a fascinating picture of how the most inventive developers and creators react to the latest developments in person-to-person communication, the evolution in media habits, and new trends in digital pop culture.”

GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE
For SEASON TWO’s first event GAMEHOTEL has joined forces with the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose, the world's largest trade event exclusively devoted to game creation. Established 16 years ago, GDC has grown into a key event attended by over 10,000 game industry insiders and decision makers who are driving the $10 billion video game industry.

“GAMEHOTEL shows just how much game culture impacts popular culture around the world,” says GDC director Alan Yu. “The reflections of games are all around us, in music, in moving images and even toys.”

“We’re very excited that GAMEHOTEL has become the latest add-on to the program of the premiere annual games industry event”, says Bruno Beusch. “The values GAMEHOTEL promotes meet GDC’s desire to engage audiences by continually reinventing the magic of video and computer games.”

ALL-STAR LINEUP
For GAMEHOTEL SEASON TWO at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, the organizers have handpicked a roster of high-profile guests from their select contacts with a common trait in mind: a supreme devotion to games and a commitment to open-mindedness. During the two-hour event these protagonists from the international video game industry, as well as related sectors of electronic entertainment and digital pop culture, will explore promising threads of innovation and diversity in the games and digital pop culture scenes.

The desire to constantly expand the horizon of video games has lead visionary TETSUYA MIZUGUCHI (Space Channel 5, Sega Rally Championship) to design the mind-blowing musical shooter Rez, in which he transforms the visual and musical sensations of clubbing into a unique game experience. Check in at GAMEHOTEL to find out what’s currently on his radar.

Directors (and winners of the MTV Best Music Video Award) LUDOVIC HOUPLAIN, HERVÉ DE CRÉCY and FRANCOIS ALAUX, from French studio H5, have crafted some of the most beautiful clips of past few years (Massive Attack, Goldfrapp, Alex Gopher, and others). Prepare to be surprised by their ever-expanding adventures in music video, like their twisted CG homage to a roster of dance icons (from Prince and James Brown to Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai), or their kinetic trip through a city of New York composed entirely of words.

From PaRappa the Rapper to Vib Ribbon all the way to his latest tour de force Mojibribon (where personal email messages blend seamlessly with Japanese calligraphy and rap rhythms), MASAYA MATSUURA, master of eccentric excellence, stretches the elastic boundaries of the games medium, and provides inspiration well beyond the confines of the industry.

With a keen eye on the future of games, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s Executive Vice President, Development, PHIL HARRISON played a critical role in the successful launch of Sony’s EyeToy, moving the player to center stage. To him, this was only a guidepost for things to come in the near future, as novel interfaces open up new gameplay possibilities, paving the way for mass acceptance of gaming.

Infamous hyper-active designer collective FURIFURI relentlessly redefines Tokyo’s pop culture continuum with its visual madness. While their Manga-style characters move virally through the many levels of toys, video games, TV or fashion brands, their attitude remains the same: Whenever something new is created, something old must let go…

CEO of up-and-coming development studio Newtgames, MATHIEU CASTELLI is a man who obviously knows how to seduce women. His ambition was to develop a location-based wireless game as exciting as the massively multiplayer games targeted at hardcore gamers. And guess what? It turns out the vast majority of the subscribers to this stylish Tokyo-based game are women.

Special guests are the fashionable designer toys from the likes of Michael Lau, Brothersfree, Eric So, James Jarvis, and many more. Recently, urban vinyl figures have evolved from mere merchandising into a unique cultural form and a new highly inspirational movement with its own culture, rivalries, and heroes. A dazzling selection of outstanding designer toys will be on display at GAMEHOTEL’s popular DESIGNER TOY SHOWCASE, set up in collaboration with San Francisco-based store KIDROBOT. An absolute must for action figure aficionados and novices alike, where you may very well discover tomorrow’s game heroes.