Now they're truly your one-stop shop. 7-Eleven, the 24-hour convenience store, has announced that they are dipping into the gaming business by selling games in their branches. No, we don't mean those scratch-and-win types of games. Console ones. For real. Read up on it at the full article.

Nexon CEO Joonmo Kwon addresses the issue of low console sales in the Asian region. And no, he's not pointing to piracy as the reason why. Instead, it's got something to do with the Asian taste and preference for games. See what he's got to say after the jump.

Okay, so you've got your agenda finalized. What's the next thing to do? Why, it's to announce the All-Star Speakers, of course.

Evergreen Events, the organizer of the 2008 ION Game Conference, has done precisely that. It's mentioned four important names to take note of. Find out who these four people are after the jump.

If you enjoyed the last Nordic Game conference and are looking forward to this year's event, we've got some news for you. Quite a number of big name speakers will be sharing their thoughts at the Business and Production part of the program. To find out who will at the event, head on over to the full article.

The first Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC) coming September 6, 2007 will have numerous regional game industry leaders to speak at the two-day conference, so goes the official announcement made earlier today. The press release named Joonmo Kwon, CEO of MMORPG tycoon Nexon and Nexon Mobile, to be one of those to speak at the GCAC in Asia and Pacific (A&P) commercial hub Singapore.

 

The event will be held alongside an open-to-all GC Asia Exhibition which will run up to September 9 - two days longer than the conference - in an effort to spur exposure of the region's most reputable game companies to investors, retailers and the public alike. But more importantly, Asian game developers will be able to tout their best products to international publishers.

In addition to Mr. Kwon, who will be addressing attendees on Mobile Development, James Miller (Lead Program Manager, Microsoft, USA) will prime the region's developers in the views of third-party publishing. And because A&P is a region of oft-outsourced game developer studios, a panel consisting of Charles Speyer (COO, Glass Egg Media, Vietnam), Alexander Fernandez (CEO, Streamline Studios, Netherlands) and Bob Bates (Board of Director, IGDA, USA) will tackle issues with outsourcing and its overall effect to the game industry.

Other discussions will express opinions on the growing trend of game financing, often the source of funds for independent game developers the world around. As of press time, the GCAC is accepting registrations online, reachable through the Read link provided below.

Here's something for Nintendo fans hoping for more good news before the end of the year. A new FF title for the Wii? We'll...get back to you on that. Nintendo announced that it's formed a partnership with Korean game publisher Nexon for the Wii.

As Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in a recently held press conference:

We plan to actively support Korean game software developers who have great expertise in developing online games and support their advances into foreign markets, Nintendo has started a game development partnership with NEXON, creator of the online racing game Crazyracing Kartrider and Korean publisher of the popular MMORPG Maple Story.

The speech was made in front of Korean media, as an announcement of Nintendo's subsidiary plans in the area. Iwata also discussed plans for a Korean language version DS Lite for January 18, with a planned Asian Wii launch late in the year, after language localization is completed.

For one, we're happy that given the normally tense post-war sentiments felt between Japan and Korea, that this event ends on a happier note. And in other news, Kim Jong Il spotted near the Wii kiosks, after failing to acquire a PS3...