This year's GO3 Electronic Entertainment Expo and Conference, a three-day affair that showcases the latest in games, hobbies, and electronic entertainment, will be kicking off tomorrow in Perth (that's in Australia, by the way). The expo part will last the whole three days, while the conference will be held on March 30 and 31.

The featured speaker for the GO3 conference is Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear series. Kojima's session is scheduled for March 31 at 2:30 in the afternoon and will focus on the correlations between the evolution of technology and changes in game design.

Other speakers include Suda 51 of Grasshopper Manufacture and Q Entertainment's Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Epic Games' Rod Ferguson will also be on hand to talk about Gears of War and how Epic handles launching a new videogame franchise. You can check out a full list of speakers as well as the schedule by clicking on the "read" link below.

We all know by now that Hideo Kojima, the brains behind Metal Gear Solid, will be at Australia's GO3 Electronic Entertainment Expo 2007. Now, GO3 organizers have revealed that renowned composer, Koji Kondo, has been confirmed as a guest speaker at GO3. Now, we wonder if a Video Game Live concert isn't far in the organizers' plans...

Unless you've been living under a rock for like forever and you don't know who Koji Kondo is, he is a composer of some of the most recognizable themes and soundtracks of Nintendo games. Other speakers for the said event are Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Epic Games producer Rod Fergusson, and Masaya Matsuura (creator of Parappa the Rapper).

We'll be giving more updates about the upcoming G03 Expo as more info comes our way.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a trade organization of TV, film, and new media producers (by "new media" we mean electronic media like software and podcasts as opposed to old-school TV). They've picked their 50 most innovative producers in the field of Digital Entertainment.

Many of us remember Testsuya Mizuguchi for Sega's Rez (who's old-school enough to have the box for the Dreamcast release of this game?). But many more of us know him for founding Q Entertainment, thereby bringing forth to the world games like Lumines (PSP), Lumines Live (Xbox 360), Meteos (DS), Gunpey-R (under development for DS), and Every Extend Extra (PSP).

Hideo Kojima is basically Konami's writer, producer, director, or any combination of the three for every single Metal Gear Solid game out there (and if there was one Metal Gear Solid he didn't take part in, I personally haven't heard of it because it must have sucked, hehehe). Kojima is Metal Gear Solid. So the recognition he's received is not surprising.

And then there's Ryuta Kawashima, neuroscientist, the Brain Age guy. It's not your typical game, and he's not your typical producer, but the fact is, "new media" is a big umbrella. You and I and all of us are lucky that we have producers (and the occasional brain scientist) who explore different avenues for our handhelds and consoles.

By the way, maybe you'd like to know that the PGA has a New Media Council. It's got some lofty goals, and we're glad that game producers get some representation.

The hard part about producing things for electronic media is dealing with the demand for more technology, technology, technology. I personally get pissed off by friends who insult my favorite games because they want the exact same thing, only with more pixels. Yeah, we whine when the graphics aren't perfect. But you know what, those graphics don't mean sh@t when there's no story, design, or idea to glue those pixels to.

Better technology exists so that the better producers can make better games. So let's applaud the better producers.

It seems that Tetsuya Mizuguchi is someone that never fails to give credit to his senpai. Q Entertainment's new spin on the game Gunpey, previously released for the WonderSwan handheld, is actually dedicated to its creator, Gunpei Yokoi, who also made the D-pad and the Game Boy.

When asked whether he would want to have a game named after himself he replies, "I don’t care if it’s after my death! But I don’t want to play a game named Mizuguchi while I’m still alive though." In fact, this guy doesn't even want every Q Entertainment game labelled as "Mizuguchi's new game." Talk about humility.

Right now, he's a sort of Q Entertainment overseer, as he says he "wants to concentrate on his creations." Moreover, he says that the company is looking into networking, and online as well as mobile games might be expected from Q Entertainment.

So was it hard to start from scratch and build a new company? Mizuguchi admits that it was rather difficult. They only had few people, and had no money for office rent, so they would regularly meet at a karaoke box! Mizuguchi focused on the creative side, while his partner, Shuji, attended to the management side of it all. He admitted that they had a slow start, but it seems that the future is looking bright for Q.

Regarding games, it all boils down to simplicity for this guy. Being universal is something that he always take into account whenever he'd make a game, as he wants to "want to break the barrier between countries and markets."

Lumines is as engaging as its creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. That was proven at the Develop conference just today, when he enthralled the audience as he discussed what inspired his colorful career. Described as a "creative visionary" by no less than Sony Computer Entertainment head honcho Phil Harrison, Mizuguchi said that  gaming had been like a sponge for the last 30 years. He's been influenced by different aspects of entertainment, technology, and culture. He said, "You can use influences from anywhere and create anything you like. There does not have to be any shape or format, all you need is inspiration."

With that as a backdrop, he revealed that Ninety-Nine Nights was inspired by a TV coverage of the Iraqi War where media played the harbinger of a multitude of opposing viewpoints. In part, the game was also inspired by the movie 'Rashomon', where different witnesses to a brutal crime tell a different story. In N3, players are offered different viewpoints, all with compelling effect. To Mizuguchi, it's "a deep part of being human; the ability to see things from different perspectives."

Lumines, the puzzle game based on sound and light patterns, was inspired by the PSP, which he called a "visual Walkman". To him, it's the perfect game for the system. While visuals drove him to create Lumines, Meteos for DS was inspired by the multi-tasking environment that has become the way of life in this day and age.

His earlier works - Rez and Space Channel 5 - were influence by dance culture, the idea of invasive media, the musical Stomp, jazz, surreal art and MTV. His stint at Sega led him to create Manx TT Superbike and Sega Rally, both inspired by the popularity of racing events and the idea of movement becoming part of games. This is one guy who finds inspiration from most anything.

Getting a bit philosophical, Mizuguchi ends his speech with: "The deeper you look at people, the more they are the game. A game should fulfill a deep human need or want. Then it can be successful all over the world."

Q Entertainment and NAMCO Bandai announced that Gunpey-R for the PSP and DS (take note that its title for the DS is Oto wo Tsunagou!) is heading to retail shops in holiday 2006. The game features exciting and innovative challenging puzzles that can only be expected from the legendary Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi. It will test your reflexes and dazzle your senses with the combination of dynamic music and colorful graphics.

Based on the 1999 Wonderswan puzzle, the creative minds at Q Entertainment combine groundbreaking music integration that will purportedly excite both the hardcore and casual gamers.

In Gunpey-R, as lines of various angles climb up the screen, you have to flip the lines located in squares to connect them over five columns. If an incomplete line reaches the top of the screen, the game is over. The game features 40 varied backgrounds and stylized music - a known trademark of the game's executive producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. It supports two-player multiplayer over wireless ad-hoc connectivity.

  

  

Q Entertainment, the studio behind monster hits Meteos and Lumines, is back with innovative music puzzle games that'll be sure to eat up most of your spare time. Based on the 1999 Wonderswan Puzzle, the basic Gunpey gameplay involves moving the square pieces up and down to form a line from left to right. The game ends once the pieces reach the top of the play field. In Gunpey-R (Gunpey-Reverse) for the PSP, Q Entertainment has placed more emphasis on music and video. As with Lumines, the "skin" concept finds its way back into the new game, allowing players to collect themes loaded with animation and music. With over 40 skin types, you're in for some eye-catching treats.

Executive producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi also announced Oto wo Tsunagou! for the DS. Also based on the Wonderswan Puzzle, the DS version plays on the strength of the handheld, focusing on direct controls via the stylus. Each time you clear a panel, the game releases a sound. The fun part is lining up these sounds with the background music to create your own music.

Both PSP and DS titles are set for a Fall release in Japan. Namco Bandai has yet to announce dates for the North American release.