Nintendo Co., Ltd. President Satoru Iwata To Keynote 2005 Game Developers Conference
Legendary Game Creator to Assess the Current State of Industry; Discuss Nintendo's Future Direction
San Francisco - Feb. 7, 2005 - Nintendo Co., Ltd. president, Satoru Iwata, will address the thousands of game professionals attending the 19th annual Game Developers Conference (GDC). GDC, the world's largest event exclusively devoted to the art of game creation, will take place Monday through Friday, March 7-11 in San Francisco.
In the Nintendo keynote, entitled "The Heart of a Gamer," Iwata will assess where the games business stands today, predict how it will develop over the next several years, and the manner in which it will help decide future Nintendo hardware and software development.
Iwata will also discuss the strategic thinking behind the development of the wildly popular Nintendo DS -- touching on how designing games based on understanding gamers' emotional reactions to interactive gameplay will play a major role in Nintendo's future plans.
"Satoru Iwata is a global icon in the game industry and we are honored to have him share his knowledge and experience with the entire game community," said Jamil Moledina, director, Game Developers Conference. "The GDC strives to deliver the best the industry has to offer and Mr. Iwata certainly brings us to that level."
Iwata is a unique executive within the games business. His background is not finance, law, or marketing, but rather videogame creation. His game credits include the classic character Kirby, as well as the globally popular Earthbound and Super Smash Brothers series. In addition to heading one of the world's best-known entertainment companies, Iwata maintains a daily role in overseeing the development of games created by Nintendo and its creative partners.
The Heart of a Gamer keynote is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of Moscone West. The keynote is central to GDC's new Vision Track, which is designed to empower developers to anticipate the future of interactive entertainment.
The GDC will feature more than 300 lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions across seven content tracks. For a complete list of GDC 2005 event information visit www.gdconf.com.