Siemens Platinum Sponsor of e-Games

"A lot of things are right about this conference," commented Ralf Fueller, General Manager, Siemens. "For a start, the line-up of speakers are both diverse and impressive. It's true that we're currently in an interesting period in gaming history, when the medium is starting to be taken seriously. The truth is that gaming is growing up," says Fueller. "The people playing games are getting older. This means they're expecting more and more sophistication from their gaming experience and developers are spending more time and effort looking into what makes the average games player tick. We need an annual event such as e-Games to put these issues in context."

Remarking on Siemens' commitment to e-Games, Mohammed Al Ghassani, Director, Knowledge Oasis Muscat and organizer of e-Games said: "We're absolutely delighted to welcome Siemens as the event's Platinum Sponsor. Indeed, their participation will add substantial value to what's already a very exciting speaker line-up of industry veterans and luminaries. We've been amazed at the huge amount of support that e-Games has received from firms such as Siemens who've helped get us off to a very solid start."

How does e-Games strike the balance between catering for the public and creating an annual industry forum? "Actually, that's something we've given a lot of thought to," replies Al Ghassani. "What we've tried to do is appeal to everyone. So we have a trade conference and a Sony PlaySation Zone, which gives the public the chance both to get hands-on with the games and to meet the people who make them. This doesn't happen anywhere else in the region."

So, where does Al Ghassani see the games industry going, and what role can e-Games play in its future? "That's a difficult question to answer," he says. "With the plethora of new devices and consoles on the horizon, not to mention the way that technology continues to advance in leaps and bounds, whatever happens in the future, it certainly won't be dull. e-Games is in an ideal position to take these technological developments and put them into a cultural and business context. Only a handful of people understand the technology, but everyone can grasp a good story presented in an entertaining medium. At the end of the day, it's about the content and about the people. And e-Games is the only place where these two can meet."

The Oman Daily Observer is the official newspaper for e-Games.