The first one is a panel discussion titled “PC Gaming in an Age of Connected Consoles” in which Firaxis designer Soren Johnson participated in. Other participants were Obsidian’s Chris Avellone, Epic president Michael Capps, and Electronic Arts producer Richard Hilleman. The panel agreed that PC gaming as the hard-core know it is dying, partly due to the high cost of entry (ex. expensive graphics cards) and the fact that people who can afford expensive graphics card often pirate the games. Some advantages of PC cited are persistent-world games and online capabilities. The panel noted a major opportunity that has yet to be properly explored: built-in, powerful ways to showcase user-generated content. Casual games were cited as a huge part of PC gaming’s future
The other headline is Video Games Live performed at the closing ceremony of GDC 2007. According to Game Informer, orchestral pieces such as Baba Yetu from Civilization IV and Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII had some of the most enthusiastic applause. Apparently Baba Yetu and its composer Christopher Tin both won awards at GDC 2007. 