GDC: Sony details show presence

On Wednesday, March 7th, the main conference and expo at the Game Developers Conference begins, opened by ‘Game 3.0’, a keynote by SCE’s worldwide studios president Phil Harrison.

This hour-long talk will, according to SCEA, "focus on the key components of Game 3.0 – community, user-generated content, collaboration and commerce – all highlighted through live demonstrations of previously un-announced services and games for the PS3."

Commented Harrison: "This is a very exciting time to be part of the game development community. Advancements in technology combined with new consumer trends mean the industry has a great opportunity to create engaging new entertainment experiences for the world

"I believe we’re at the threshold of a new era in creative game development that’s destined to drive our industry growth through the next decade or more."

Meanwhile, in the expo floor, Sony is debuting a number of new technologies. These include SN System’s profiling tool Tuner, Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, PS3 Linux tools, other profiling and analysis tools, and a demonstration of new PlayStation Network titles such as flOw, Blast Factor, and Calling all Cars.

And, keynote aside, Sony has speakers involved in 18 other different sessions dedicated to its hardware and software.

These are:

Monday, March 5
10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: E. Daniel Arey, Director, Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment America
"Interactive Storytelling Bootcamp," Room 3011, West Hall

10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Vlad Stamate, Graphics Software Engineer, Sony Computer Entertainment America
"Core Techniques and Algorithims in Shader Programming," Room 3011, West Hall

10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Dan Bardino, Audio Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe; Sergio Pimentel, Music Licensing and A&R Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe; Jason Page, Audio Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe,
"Audio Boot Camp," Room 3006, West Hall

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: John Hight, Director of Production, Sony Computer Entertainment America
"Console/PC Distribution Gatekeepers," (part of Independent Games Summit), Room 3018, West Hall

2:30-3:30 p.m.: Jenova Chen, flOw creator, ThatGameCompany
"Innovation in Indie Games," (part of Independent Games Summit), Room 3018, West Hall

Tuesday, March 6
10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Christer Ericson, Director of Tools and Technology, Sony Computer Entertainment America,
"Physics for Games Programmers," Room 3011, West Hall

10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: Bill Dalton, Technical Director, Austin Studio, Sony Online Entertainment
"Large-Scale Engineering for Online and Offline Games," Room 3009, West Hall

10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.: John Needham, CFO and SVP of Finance, Sony Online Entertainment
"Downloadable Casual Games on the Console," (part of Casual Games Summit 201), Room 3020, West Hall

5:00-6:00 p.m.: David Jaffe, Creative Director, Sony Santa Monica Studios
"Building the Future of Indie Games," (part of Independent Games Summit), Room 3018, West Hall

Wednesday, March 7
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Gabe Ahn (Field Developer Support Engineer SCEA)
"COLLADA in console game production" Room 3004, West Hall

4:00-5:00 p.m.: Bruce D’Amora, Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM
"Control your Performance Monsters: Cell Programming Tips and Techniques," Room 3004, West Hall

Thursday, March 8
9:00-10:00 a.m.: Jason Page, Sony Computer Entertainment, Michael Kelly, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
"PS3 Audio: More Than Extra Channels," Room 3006, West Hall

2:30-3:30 p.m.: Dave Murrant, Sound Design Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment America
"PS3: Audio Development From the Trenches," Room 3008, West Hall

2:30-3:30 p.m.: Mark Cerny, Cerny Games, Jon Olick, Lead Programmer, Naughty Dog, David Simpson, Lead Programmer, Naughty Dog
"RSX Best Practices," Room 3001, West Hall

4:00-5:00 p.m.: Chris Carty, Principal Programmer, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Nicolas Serres, Principal Programmer, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios
"Real-World SPU Usage," Room 3010, West Hall

4:00-5:00 p.m.: Tsutomu Kouno, Japan Studio, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios
"A LocoRoco Postmortem: Making Happiness into Gameplay," Room 135, North Hall

Friday, March 9
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.: Mark Teare, Character Artist, Factor 5
"Cross Application Asset Creation for Lair: From Characters to Clouds," Room 135 North Hall

12:00-1:00 p.m.: Scott Kirkland, Technical Director, Evolution Studios
"Applied Physics: MotorStorm," Room 3001, West Hall