Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) A total of 304 Taiwanese gamers will vie for top honors at the Taipei Digital Game Championship, a national competition at the Taipei Game Show 2006 (TGS 2006), this weekend.
The gamers from north and south, already the cream of the crop, winning their respective regional tournaments that saw a total of 36,443 competitors, gathered in Taipei for the national championship tournament. Winners of the six different online games will be determined Sunday.
"We hope to promote the digital content industry through this competition, the first computer games tournament sponsored by the government, " Deputy Director General of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) Shen Jung-jin said.
"Governmental assistance has stimulated the energy of the digital content industry," said Henry Hsieh, marketing manager of Electronic Arts Taiwan (EA Taiwan) . EA Taiwan is presenting "NBA Live 06", one of the most popular games in Taiwan, at the competition.
"Online games are becoming more and more popular among those of the younger generation who are familiar with computers, as evidenced by the increasing number of visitors at this event, " Hsieh said.
Organizers have estimated that more than 100,000 visitors and industry professionals will visit the TGS 2006, which ends on Sunday.
Hsieh envisions booming success for the industry in the coming years. "Computer game sales were down approximately 10 percent in the past year because of the transitional period between the old and new consoles, such as Sony's PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360. Most users are waiting for the new models. But the future is looking good, " Hsieh noted.
However, he also expressed some concerns. "Piracy is still the biggest concern for us. Most gamers are students who are more than willing to try as many computer games as they can but don't have enough money to buy the software. That's why they download illegal software," he said.
The TGS, organized by the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), is the second largest international PC/console game show in Asia and attracts an average of 500,000 visitors annually. This year's event features booths hosted by over 150 of Asia's leading PC/console game developers.
The Taipei Game Show 2006 is being held at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall I.