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For
Immediate Release Xbox Games Incubation Programme Launches at Hong Kong Cyberport Aims to promote and develop the digital entertainment
industry in The Xbox
Games Incubation Programme will invite and be open to talented programmers and
developers to submit proposals of their creative and innovative projects for
evaluation. Selected candidates will be offered an excellent opportunity of
producing their own titles at Xbox Games Incubation Centre, an integrated game
studio soon to open at Hong Kong Cyberport. The Xbox Games Incubation Centre is
supported by Cyberport’s Digital Media Centre ( Mrs. Betty
Fung, JP, Deputy Government Chief Information Officer, said at the press
conference today, “Digital entertainment is an emerging and rapidly growing
industry around the world. It has extended its impact across different
genres spanning television, movies, games, advertisements, music and education.
Building on our well-established movie production foundation, and the creativity
of our industry practitioners, Hong Kong's digital entertainment products and
service are increasingly well recognized internationally, as evidenced by the many
international awards received by our industry in recent years." “Under the
impetus and support of OGCIO, we are pleased to co-organize the Xbox Games
Incubation Programme. Leveraging Cyberport’s advanced technology platform, we
want to nurture more experts, cultivate innovative ideas, and ultimately
enhance the overall competitiveness and international recognition of Hong
Kong’s digital entertainment industry,” commented Mr. Nicholas Yang, Chief
Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Limited. “By gaining
in-depth knowledge about the Xbox gaming infrastructure, and the latest
development skills of the most advanced digital gaming system through the
Programme, IT talents will be able to realize their dreams of developing their
own gaming software. We believe the Xbox Games Incubation Programme will
further accelerate and lay a solid foundation for a successful digital
entertainment industry for “We are excited to partner with Hong Kong Cyberport and its Digital
Media Centre to heighten the level of digital entertainment development in Small-and-medium sized games development companies
(except current Xbox games developers), final-year students in post secondary
programmes and postgraduate students are eligible to join the Programme. The judging
panel includes academics and industry experts in the field. Applications will
be evaluated based on five criteria: 1) design concept, 2) entertainment
element, 3) market potential, 4) technical performance and 5) effectiveness of
presentation. The winning applications should demonstrate and make use of the
unique features of the Xbox platform, including its robust processing power,
stunning graphics quality and real-to-life sound performance. The awards
will be delivered in two phases. 5 candidates will be selected in Phase one by
January 2005, who will each receive a cash award of HK$ 5,000. The 5 winners
will then be invited to enter into Phase Two, which will end in December 2005,
to materialise their concept into real Xbox games titles. All winners are
eligible to use Cyberport’s Digital Media Centre’s facilities for 1 year. Upon successful completion of the
project, another HK$20,000 will be awarded to each candidate. All games
developed through the Programme will be showcased at The Programme registration starts today! Want to create your own digital game title? Act now,
realize your dreams and be one of the active drivers of digital games
development in Interested
parties may download the application form from xbox.cyberport.hk, and send the
completed form with an English project proposal by registered post to Digital Media Centre at Cyberport by For games developers interested in the Programme, a seminar will be held
in Function Rooms 1-3 at Cyberport on For detailed
rules, regulations, and further information about the seminar and the
Programme, please visit xbox.cyberport.hk, email xbox@cyberport.hk or call the Programme
hotline at 3166-3899. ### About
Hong Kong Cyberport
Cyberport - Hong
Kong's IT Flagship - is a US $2 billion (HK$15.8 billion) landmark project
managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited and wholly owned by
the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The
project is being developed on a 24-hectare site at About Digital Media Centre ( The Digital Media Centre ( About Xbox Xbox (http://www.xbox.com)
is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the
most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an
expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified
Xbox Live online service. The new tagline, “it’s good to play together,”
captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment
lifestyle. Xbox is now available in About
Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “ |