For the first time, Spain´s Ministry of Culture will be there in person for an event involving the videogame sector. The government of Spain has just given official recognition to videogaming as a part of Culture Industry in our country. Therefore, Gamelab 2009, the Interactive Entertainment International Fair will be inaugurated on July 1st by Ángeles González-Sinde, the Minister of Culture Affairs. The opening is at 12:00 noon at the theater Teatro de Laboral, in the City of Culture.

They are: Best Technology, Best Art, Best Game Design, Best PC/Online/Console Game, Best Mobile Game, Best Studio, Best Editor, Professional of the Year, The Jury´s Special Award, and as usual, the Special Tribute Award. The trophy to be awarded to the winners has been named Pulga, meaning flea, to honor “La Pulga” or “Bugaboo”, which is considered to be the first videogame from Spain, created back in 1983 by Indescomp. The trophy was exclusively designed for Gamelab by Nikodemo Animation, the studio which was responsible for the popular animation series “Cálico Electrónico” , among other projects. The enjoyment and fun for Gala Night will be provided by the actor, presenter and comedian Javier Veiga from El Club de la Comedia comedy show, and by the presenter and model María José Suárez from the Noche de Fiesta show. Gala Night is on July 2nd at the Casino de Asturias in the city of Gijón.

With a Who´s Who list that includes: Chris Hecker, one of the professionals involved in the revolutionary and highly acclaimed Electronic Arts game, Spore; Nicolas Doucet, producer of EyePet and the professional who developed the EyeToy Play franchise as Creative Director at the Vision Department at Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios; Bryan Neider, Vicepresident of General Manager of the EA Games Label, who will share his perspective on what is going on in today´s interactive entertainment industry: the challenges, the keys to success, the changes and the opportunities.

The Industry in Spain will shine at Gamelab 2009 thanks to the presence of today´s hottest Spanish studios: Digital Legends, this year´s top choice because of their exceptional work in the game Kroll, to present iPhone 3G alongside Steve Jobs; MercurySteam, whose latest project, Castlevania, Lords of the Shadow, is given direct sponsorship by terrific Hideo Kojima; and Novarama, the studio which has just presented on the E3 one of most technologically cutting-edge games for the PSP platform.

Gamelab 2009 is going strong, with an upcoming 5th series being held on July 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Gijón. It is a unique forum where the fundamentals of today´s videogame industry are to be debated. The talks are backed by key speakers, who are not only Spaniards but also renowned experts from abroad. Conference highlights include international VIPs such as Ian Livingston, Creative Director at EIDOS, where the worldwide successful games he developed include the Tomb Raider saga. Other amazing experts there include Dave Cox, head of the International Division for Product Management at Konami, Cédric Gérard, International Marketing Manager at Ankara Games, Dofus, Tracy Spaight, co-founder of Past4ward and Publishing Director at K2 Network, and Chulki Choi, Chief Division Manager for the Korean firm NHN Corporation and the person in charge of “Hangames”, the number one Korean games portal.