Upcoming Events in Asia

Mainly because I cannot read very well and need pictures to be entertained, I feel an obligation to include a photo with each blog posting. The obligatory photo at the right is of our office in Tokyo. No... not all of the employees/computers, etc. are ours, as we share office space with a company called "ZeroDiv" (a mobile contents developer) to save costs. But to the left you see Takumi on the phone, working away. So here's the relevancy to this post's title: we have a lot going on in Asia.

The day before our Head of Sales for Asia heads home after a nearly-six-week tour through the region, myself and two other Emergent team members hit the ground again next week in Asia, for yet more events there. We're continuing to support customers there, build pipeline, and become the de facto standard in the region. Our calendar of events in Asia over the next couple of months is as follows.

• July 10-11 (Thur-Fri). Daegu, South Korea. Gamebryo Technical Training courses. I will give an industry trends keynote that is sure to put people to sleep, then our Matthew Campbell and Valery Carpentier will give two days of technical training. This event is sponsored by the Digital Industry Promotion Agency located in Daegu, South Korea, in conjunction with their partnership with University of California, Irvine. Thus far, more than 20 developers have registered to attend (all Gamebryo pre-customers).
  Of note: In my career, I've been to Korea 30+ times, but have never been anywhere other than Seoul. I am looking forward to venturing out of Seoul, to this southern city of Daegu.
• July 14-15 (Mon-Tue). Shanghai, China. Gamebryo Technical Training courses. Again I will give a sleep-inducing keynote, followed by two days of training by Matt and Val. Additionally, Gary Chang, CEO of Winking Entertainment, our distribution partner in China, will give a brief address. And in what I'm sure will be the most thrilling event all year long, myself and Gary will be available Monday morning for press interviews, which we are lining up. Man... press!!! Unlike my blog here, I guess I need to be careful what I say! :-)
  Of note: We're working on securing the venue, but our lunch-time eatertainment should also be noteworthy. It's sure to be a hoot!
• July 17-19 (Thur-Sat). Shanghai, China. China's biggest games industry show, China Joy. Though our big June-July road show and my own personal vacation schedule prevent me from attending China Joy, Winking Entertainment will be there, showing Gamebryo and conducting customer and pre-customer meetings.
  
• August 4-5 (Mon-Tue). Shanghai, China. Gamebryo Technical/Artists Training. I will once again attempt to put people to sleep with my keynote, followed by two days of technical and artists training. In between the July and August events, attendees will be able to "play" with their eval copies of Gamebryo, and Val will once again be there to follow up with any questions people may have, and to continue some technical training. Additionally, however, our own Jeremiah Washburn will be joining us to give some artists training with Gamebryo.
• August 7-8 (Thur-Fri). Daegu, South Korea. We will follow the same program from Shanghai earlier in the week, again sponsored by the Digital Industry Promotion Agency. We'll be glad to head out of China on Wednesday, two days before the Olympics kick off there. It's bound to get a little crazy with all the extra Olympic activity!