GAMEHOTEL - GAMING INTO LIFE

 

ACCESS TO GAMEHOTEL ZURICH 2007: Deutsch | English

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2006, TONIMOLKEREI ZURICH
Following up on highly successful shows in California and Paris, GAMEHOTEL, the acclaimed international event series on interactive entertainment, appears on stage for the first time in German-speaking Europe. The light-hearted GAMEHOTEL SHOW and the high-profile GAMEHOTEL CONFERENCE both celebrate video games as a driving force in popular culture today.

Packed with ideas, style, and a whole lot of fun, the GAMEHOTEL SHOW presents some of the most respected game creators from Japan, the US, and Europe. Showcasing some of the most creative minds in the game industry, the GAMEHOTEL SHOW is an inspiring journey into the future of interactive entertainment.

At the GAMEHOTEL CONFERENCE, leading international speakers spotlight the growing influence of video games in various creative industries as well as in advertisement, media, education, and the workplace.

GAMEHOTEL is produced by renowned event organizer and digital media consultancy TNC Network, founded in Paris in 1995.

"Today, computer and video games occupy a central position in culture, economy, and society. Yet the public debate often leaves aside many exciting developments in this truly contemporary form of expression," says GAMEHOTEL director Bruno Beusch. "GAMEHOTEL closes this gap and places games where they belong: right on top of the cultural, economic, and social agenda of the 21st century."

Since their spectacular 2003 Paris debut, the international event series with its pop cultural spin has transposed the latest trends in interactive entertainment into vibrant shows and enthralling conferences. Due to its unique approach and its high quality standards, it has established itself as a stylish alternative to traditional consumer fairs and industry insider gatherings. 

PRAISE FROM THE PUBLIC AND THE MEDIA
The audience and the media described GAMEHOTEL events in glowing terms: French daily Libération: “A great evening on digital pop culture”. Leading London-based game magazine Edge: “GAMEHOTEL offers moments of rare cultural insights. A valuable and enduring achievement; refreshing and exuberant”. Californian Xbox Nation magazine: “Fun, relaxation, and intelligent discourse! A much-needed counter-balance to the industry’s play-it-safe agenda”. Yahoo: “The symbol of future events on video games”. Online game magazine Gamespot: “[Featuring] some of the most innovative people in games, GAMEHOTEL was a success.” French weekly Télérama: “The place where you discover tomorrow’s games and digital heroes.” High-profile game magazine Gamasutra: “A celebration of video gaming as it relates to pop culture at large.” Influential blog Kotaku: “Crawling with hot game designers. A slick stage presentation and interview extravaganza ... impressive.” Tokyo-based game magazine Famitsu: “Relaxing atmosphere, cheerfully designed!”

A WHO’S WHO OF VIDEO GAMES
The guest list of previous GAMEHOTEL events and spin offs reads like a who’s who of video games: legendary Japanese creator of Lumines, 99 Nights, and Rez, Tetsuya Mizuguchi; the new enfant terrible on the block and mastermind behind cult title Katamari Damacy, Keita Takahashi; Guitar Hero creator, and Harmonix’ CEO, Alex Rigopulos; Sony Worldwide Studios’ president, Phil Harrison; Sims creator Will Wright; French and Swedish mobile and alternate reality gaming pioneers Tom Söderlund and Mathieu Castelli; British game developer legend Peter Molyneux; Japanese music-action game master Masaya Matsuura; French visionary David Cage; Neil Young, Vice President of Electronic Arts; British author and columnist Steven Poole, aka ‘Trigger Happy’, and many more have shared their thoughts and visions while demoing their latest titles.

FROM THE VALLEY TO THE LAKE
After its celebrated 2003 Paris launch in an elegantly historic aristocratic town house, in 2004 GAMEHOTEL became part of the official program of the Game Developer’s Conference, the world’s premiere video game developer convention (GAMEHOTEL AT GDC). In 2005, GAMEHOTEL FUTURE MOVES and GAMEHOTEL JAPAN UNLIMITED featured the first public European appearances of Japanese and US top game designers and shooting stars to sold-out crowds.

With its first venture into the German-speaking part of Europe in October 2006, GAMEHOTEL will swap familiar Silicon Valley and Paris venues for the vibrant feel of one of the continent’s most thriving club environments - the Tonimolkerei Club, located on the shores of beautiful Lake Zurich.

THE GAMEHOTEL BRAND
In addition to its flagship live events, GAMEHOTEL also produces an ongoing series of TV/radio programs on game culture, as well as GAMEHOTEL seminars and focus sessions on the influence of video games in advertisement, the media, education and in the workplace. In addition, a GAMEHOTEL book is scheduled for release at the end of 2006. This entertaining journey into the universe of video games will spotlight the positions, ideas and visions of leading video game developers and other GAMEHOTEL guests.

THE ORGANIZER
GAMEHOTEL is produced by renowned event organizer and digital media consultancy TNC Network (www.tnc.net). This “specialist in electronic event design” (Libération, Paris) has earned an international reputation for its development of a refreshingly new style of trend-setting events on interactive entertainment, emerging communication technologies, and digital pop culture in Europe, the US, and Asia.

TNC Network was founded in Paris in 1995 by interactive entertainment experts and event and media producers, Tina Cassani and Bruno Beusch. As long-time advisers to prestigious technology festivals, mentors in digital media think tanks, and frequent speakers at conferences around the world, they have consulted extensively with clients in industry, media and interactive entertainment, research, education, and culture. Additionally, as World Technology Awards nominees and former curators at the world’s premiere digital media festival Ars Electronica, Tina and Bruno have produced and directed over 50 productions for all major European broadcast networks.