GDAA at GDC

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – 20 March 2009 – Australian game developers are set to descend in record numbers upon the annual Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco, U.S.A. Spanning the gamut from casual and mobile developers, to currentgen and MMO studios, the Australian development community is anticipating a year of growth for the local industry despite the current economic climate. And with more than 30 developers attending GDC, the signs are encouraging for the Australian development community.

“There is no question the current economic crisis has had an adverse effect on our industry, but it has put Australian developers in a unique and enviable position,” said Mr Tom Crago, President of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia. “The simple fact is that right now you get far more value for money developing in Australia than in pretty much any other territory in the world.”

Significant currency fluctuations over the past twelve months constitute bad news for Australians holidaying overseas, but provide a massive comparative advantage for Australian-based game studios. “We now have a situation where Australian teams can deliver more on a game than ever before,” said Mr Crago. “Studios can now put more resources onto a project, with no increase in cost to our publisher partners. It’s a great situation for everybody involved.”

Crago also pointed to recent titles like deBlob, Puzzle Quest, The Force Unleashed, and Pony Friends as examples of Australian-developed games that had enjoyed both critical and commercial success.

Prominent Australian developers attending GDC 2009 include Infinite Interactive, Halfbrick Studios, Transmission Games, Tantalus, Firemint, Iron Monkey Studios, Endgame Studios, Redtribe, Wicked Witch, and Torus Games.

The GDAA will host a networking function at GDC at Roe Restaurant on Thursday 26 March.

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Further details:

Mike McNabb

COO GDAA

mmcnabb@gdaa.com.au

+61 404 834 384