Iwata to Return For GDC 06 Keynote Speech Company: Nintendo Product: Game Developers Conference Iconic game developer and president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. Satoru Iwata returns for the second consecutive year to deliver the keynote address of the 2006 Game Developers Conference (GDC). GDC, the world's largest event exclusively devoted to the art of game creation, will take place at the San Jose Convention Center Monday through Friday, March 20-24. In his keynote (synopsis below), entitled "Disrupting Development," Iwata will inspire developers to take risks and mine the depths of their imaginations to create innovative games regardless of the size of teams or budgets. He will point to the Nintendo DS "brain-training" games and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to prove it is still possible to succeed at engaging new players and surprising existing players. Iwata will also share his thoughts on the role Nintendo's video game systems will play in expanding the market and widening the possibilities for developers. "We are extremely honored to feature an experienced platform leader such as Satoru Iwata as a keynote speaker," said Jamil Moledina, director, Game Developers Conference. "As Nintendo reinvents the scope of what games can be, it is ever more crucial to share their creative and market-growing philosophies with the other leaders of the game creation industry." Born in 1959 in the Hokkaido Prefecture of Japan, Iwata studied at and graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology University, where he majored in computer science. Shortly after graduating, Iwata joined HAL Laboratory, Inc. and in 1983 began coordinating the software production and development of Nintendo titles, such as the Kirby series. By 1993, he had become president of that company. In 2000, Iwata moved to Nintendo Co., Ltd. as the head of the Corporate Planning division, where he was responsible for Nintendo's global corporate planning. In 2002, he was named president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. where he continues to guide development of games with the passion of a game creator. Satoru Iwata's keynote, "Disrupting Development," is scheduled for Thursday, March 23, from 10:30 to 11:30am. The GDC is the largest and most important professional development event for the games industry. The conference will feature more than 300 lectures and workshops designed to provide inspiration and build skills. The annual event offers an independent forum for developers from around the world to set the agenda for the next stage of interactive tools. The GDC will take place March 20-24 at the San Jose Convention Center. "Disrupting Development" Synopsis: This year will see the arrival of more new portable and home game systems, and outside attention remains predictably focused on technical specifications and processing muscle. This is not trivial; but also not newsworthy. After all, every new system is more powerful than its predecessor. Developers know what drives the video game business. It is our work. We are the creators, the innovators, the entertainers. We understand that people who imagine things, even more than the people who engineer them, are the key to reaching players. Unfortunately, the application of imagination is getting more and more difficult. Larger games require more hours, more manpower, and a lot more money. And as budgets rise, the appetite for risk falls. As Nintendo has demonstrated with Nintendo DS, our goal is to expand the industry to new players…and to surprise existing players. In a speech entitled, "Disrupting Development," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata will reveal the backstory of how a string of recent disruptive products from Nintendo — the Nintendo DS, the 'brain-training' games, and Nintendo WiFi Connection — surprised the market. He will share his thoughts on the role Nintendo's video game systems will play in expanding the market and widening the possibilities for developers. -Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker Related Links: Game Developers Conference -- Official Site Nintendo