Singapore sets up first national pavilion at world's largest games expo in LA
10 May 2006, Channel News Asia
By Pearl Forss
SINGAPORE : Singapore has set up its first national pavilion at the world's largest games trade show - the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Popularly known as E3, the event in Los Angeles is where major announcements are made and industry trends set.
And Singapore's presence marks a coming of age for its digital media industry, says the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA).
The Asian gaming market is estimated to be worth $23 billion by 2009 and the Singapore Games Exchange Alliance is poised to capitalise on this.
And Activate Interactive, a member of the Alliance, has developed the world's first cross-platform multi-player online role-playing game that can be played on both the computer and mobile phone in real time.
Technologies like this help transform Singapore into a development, testing and deployment centre for the regional video game industry.
It is also one of the games to be exhibited at the E3 in Los Angeles.
"Through this game, we are trying to tap into Asia's wireless and online gaming market which is expected to exceed 230 million users by the year 2009 and spend about $5 billion a year," said Gareth Zhou, game engineer of Activate Interactive.
There are 13 local companies showcasing their games and games-related services to over 70,000 trade visitors from 79 countries at the E3 in LA.
And IDA says Singapore's presence there will help in branding the local gaming industry, as there has been limited exposure for Singapore's game developers so far.
IDA adds that cross-platform gaming is one growth area for gaming in Asia and it believes Singapore is ready to launch such games across the region.
More than 400 companies will be at the E3 from May 10-12, including big players such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, showcasing around 5,000 upcoming games titles and new hardware.