All five halls at KINTEX were used this year. As a result, the total space used for the exhibition rose to 53,000 square meters. This over 150% of last year's 33,000 square meters. Halls 2 through 4 were used to house pavilions for online games, mobile games, console games, and other related industries. Hall 1 was used for special events, including a very large go-kart track. Hall 5 was exclusively for use of business to business meetings, and was much more quiet than the others.
Many well-known Korean online game companies participated in the show, including Nexon, Neowiz, Webzen, WeMade Entertainment, Uniana, HabitSoft, JC Entertainment, NCSoft, Hyosung, and Interpark. Also, game-related businesses including Cykan, WindySoft, Ntreesoft, and Gravity participated in the business pavilion only.
Eighteen schools also participated in the exhibition. These included universities such as Sogang University, Soongsil University, and Hongik University. Other institutions such as the Korea Game Science High School and The Game School also hosted booths at the exhibition. A busy schedule of special events marked the four day exhibition, with every hour containing some new show or performance.
Altogether, there were more than 2,000 individual booths at this exhibition.
Out of all the games shown at the exhibition, one stood out as unique and interesting. An MMORPG to be published by Korean startup company Frogster Studios, The Chronicles of Spellborn seemed to take a different path from its online competition. Park Moon-hae, CEO and founder of Frogster Studios, said that he wants to bring a different and more engaging experience to online gaming. The company has purchased exclusive publishing and distribution rights to the entire East Asian market, including South Korea, Japan, and China. It is sure to be a lucrative business. The Chronicles of Spellborn is set to be released in the first quarter of 2007.
Another company that stood out at the conference was the Game School. The School's booth showcased a lot of artwork from its students at its booth. The Game School has a 13 year history and is the oldest academic institute in Korea in the game industry. In the 13 years of its existence, over 3,000 students have passed its doors to a position in one of various game companies in Korea. The school boasts a 100% employment rate for its students, most of whom get jobs even before they complete the course. It is estimated that over 50% of the people in the Korean game industry have come from the Game School, making it the best place to network in the industry.
Students attend the school for 12 months in one of 3 courses: planning, graphics, and programming. After the initial interview, regardless of their applied course, all students spend 1 month together attending all 3 of the school's 3 courses. This is to ensure that students, and ultimately, the working people in the game industry know about other field's difficulties, which ensures better cooperation between within teams.
The school's instructors are highly skilled, with at least 5 years of experience in the game industry as a requirement. The school is expanding overseas, and is in its final stages of attracting Chinese students from early next year.
Game-related companies included Bandai, the Japanese toy manufacturer, who set up a booth where participants could buy and construct small plastic models of their favorite Bandai characters past and present. In addition, toys of various styles were available from many different current PC games and cartoons such as Naruto and Capsule Fight Online. The computer hardware company Lluon also showcased their Little Lluon super slim PC, which seemed to be a desktop PC almost as small as a laptop in a slick silver case.
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