It was not so hard to pack my business carrier for heading to Busan since it hosts the 6th G-Star 2010 in 2 years consecutively. Bexco is no longer unfamiliar. Korean media and game companies also liked it generally. Some said it was successful.
What about foreign companies? Due to the North Korea’s provocation occurred just right before the survey took place, some people preferred Busan as a host city for G-Star than Seoul because it is located in south that seems much safer. I don’t know what to say. lol. Let’s check out what others thought about G-Star 2010.
This survey was done with 56 foreign online game companies who attended G-Star2010 include publisher, consultant, solution, and media. Please be aware that the outcome of the survey is limited to personal opinions. :)
■?G-Star 2010, “Well Done”
More than half answered ‘very satisfactory’ and 41% answered ‘satisfactory’ to the G-Star 2010. Now we may say G-Star is settled as an international online game show.
Let’s see which part was good and which was not.
81% said G-Star 2010 is improved compared to G-Star 2009. I was worrying people might not like B2B area because it was divided into 1st and 2nd floor, but it was unnecessary.
As the actual satisfaction was 93% which surpassed the prior expectation (86%), I guess G-Star 2010 went pretty well this year.
■?B2C and Games
Which titles were the most anticipated from foreign companies?
NCsoft’s <Blade & Soul> is selected as the most anticipated online game, followed by <ArcheAge> and <TERA>. It was somewhat obvious result since they are the big 3 Korean next generation MMORPGs. Besides, <Ghosts ’n Goblin Online> <Metro Conflict> <Asta> were selected too.
<Asta> was selected as ‘the most surprising online game’, followed by <Ghosts ‘n Goblin Online> and <Ned>.
Although 91% satisfied with the size and quality of exhibited games at B2C, reported inconvenience such as unprepared PC for press which caused press reporter to line up with other visitors to cover it should be reviewed and fixed next time.
NCsoft and NHN were selected as the most memorable B2C booth. INNOVA from Russia is the only B2B booth among the top 10.
The following graph shows the position of G-Star amongst the other international game shows. But it is premised on only online gaming field.
■ What they liked and disliked
About B2B meetings and related exhibitions, 86% liked the thorough separation between B2B and B2C which made more business environment for them.
Yet poor operation of committee was pointed out. Neglecting foreign buyers, disordered registration desk, untrained staffs were also mentioned. The complaints were quite different from the favorable review from local media.
The improvement on the B2B meeting was introducing pre matching system. With it, the exhibitors with booth were able to manage their schedule conveniently. But there were some complaints regarding the poorly designed UI, no response to the inquiry, unavailability of searching companies not in exhibition list.
The facility of B2B was quite satisfactory except the poor wireless internet connection for both laptop and smart phone.
■ Busan is just good
Busan as a host city of G-Star seems welcome from foreign companies. They love the warm weather and great view of coast city, the less but convenient enough traffic and accommodation, short distance from hotels and airport to Bexco.
What they did not like is the fact they need to transfer the airline, lack of information in English, and disappearance of taxi after 6 pm when was the closure time of G-Star 2010.
