Invite-only press attendance at future GDCs?

It’s been revealed that the Game Developers Conference could become invite-only for the gaming press from 2009 onwards.

Talking to Kotaku, conference director Jamil Moledina said: "We don’t have it nailed down, but we are looking at moving to an invite model for press access at GDC.

"It’s meant to be a networking event for people who make games, but more and more we are seeing a lot of individuals who are obtaining press credentials who aren’t full-time press. It’s kind of open to being spoofed, in a way."

According to Kotaku’s statistics, in 2006 the conference had 16,000 attendees, 1,000 of which were members of the press. The move, says Moledina, is about making sure that GDC is fulfilling its core aims.

"I am concerned that if we don’t focus on what makes GDC work we will face some complications down the road. As long as it remains predominantly about learning, thats what we are concerned with."

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, which puts on DICE every year, has expressed a similar concern to the blog, with AIAS president Joseph Olin saying that the move would partly be down to ‘the misbehaviour of the invited press.’

He said: "The opportunity to be among so many high-profile signature members of the game-making community is that it creates this opportunity to be, ‘There’s so and so, I need to go talk to him’. Some of our high profile members said they felt uncomfortable."