Let the Festival of Games Begin in South Korea

All You Need to Know About G-STAR 2015

Once again, it’s that time of the year when excitement is in the air as we approach G-STAR, South Korea’s largest gaming trade show. The symbolic event which attracts some 200 thousand game enthusiasts and industry professionals, happens during the end of each year, and Busan, the second-largest city and the largest port town in the peninsula has been hosting it for the past 5 consecutive years. This year, G-STAR, an acronym for ‘Game Show & Trade, All-Around’ is scheduled for November 12th to the 15th.

Though all components of the event are limited to the massive grounds of BEXCO (Busan Exhibition & Convention Center), the exhibit is distinctly divided into two worlds - the B2B arena where people decked out in logo T-shirts and hoodies talk business and exchange name cards, and the B2C festival where avid gamers line up to try out the newly released while flamboyant booth girls and cosplay attendants pose for photos.

Hold that thought if you think the B2B section sounds less exciting. The 3-storied hall occupied by B2B exhibitioners is a gigantic real life LUMAscape where players ranging from gaming publishers and analytics platforms to ad networks and localization agencies connect and explore opportunities for collaboration. The international component adds even more fun - last year, businesses from 35 countries participated in the event, and with the booth of the Russian game publisher located across an Indonesian startup that sits next to an U.S-based analytics platform, it surely is a walk down the lane of a miniaturized global village.

G-STAR, Then and Now

The organizing committee has opened it up to the public to compete for the most fitting slogan for each year. Thus the historical timeline of these taglines gives us a quick overview of the most pressing issue or the key focus of that year’s gaming industry, despite the somewhat awkward grammatical usage of English from time to time.

Year 2009 marks the turning point when G-STAR moved to Busan (slogan for the year: Beautiful Game Ocean, in Busan) and revamped the quality of the show and its reputation. Prior to this makeover, the show, lacking in participation by any overseas businesses, had been notoriously dubbed ‘Girl Star’ for skimpy clothing worn by the booth girls. Today, G-STAR stands as the symbolic event for the gaming industry that has been fighting a long-standing battle with the government which proposed classifying online games as a potential form of addiction. 2014 marked the 10th anniversary of the festival with over 600 domestic and foreign game companies from 35 different nations.

Fast forward to the present - this year, the organizing committee announced 4:33 Creative Lab as the main sponsor for G-STAR. The Korean mobile game design company is famous for their smash hit titles like ‘Arrow,’ and ‘Blade’ as well as having secured investment from Tencent and Line Corporation last year. It is also worthy to note that 4:33 is the first SME player and the first mobile gaming company to sponsor the event. And with the number of exhibitors for this year’s event up by 13% from 423 to 485, we are looking forward to the diversity created by the smaller-sized players and the new entrants.

InMobi @ G-STAR 2015

As G-STAR is a golden opportunity for InMobi to meet and network with gaming studios interested in a smarter way of user acquisition and monetization on a global scale, we will again be situated at the B2B Hall with our booth wide open for anyone who wants to connect. This year marks the third anniversary of our booth presence at the trade show. In 2014, we also co-hosted the event’s official business networking party. This year’s InMobi booth has been designed to highlight our strengths as the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network, with presence in over 200 countries including some of the booming markets like China and the U.S. as well as emerging markets in Southeast Asia. Visitors can pick up postcards summarizing the most recent app download patterns and CPD for APAC, U.S., China and European regions, as well schedule a free consultation service from our Sales and Business Development team members equipped with the experience and knowledge needed to help gaming studios successfully venture out overseas as well as succeed in the South Korean market. To top it all off, our popcorn bar will be open from morning till night with an unlimited supply of gourmet popcorn and a wide selection of drinks to choose from. What more reason do you need to drop by the InMobi booth at this year’s G-STAR?

Want to schedule a meeting with us? Email korea-marketing@inmobi.com