Launch of Nanyang Polytechnic Games Resource Centre

9 April 2009 - Speech By RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore, As Guest Of Honour at the Launch of Nanyang Polytechnic Games Resource Centre, Theatre for the Arts, Nanyang Polytechnic

Speech By RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, as Guest Of Honour at the Launch of Nanyang Polytechnic Games Resource Centre, 9 April 2009 (Thursday), 11:00am at the Theatre for the Arts, Nanyang Polytechnic

His Excellency Mr Makoto Yamanaka, Japan’s Ambassador to Singapore,
Mr Chan Lee Mun, Principal and CEO, Nanyang Polytechnic,
Mr Tetsuhiko Yasuda, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Asia,
Mr Katsunori Yamaji, CEO, Premium Agency Inc,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to be here this morning to witness the launch of the Games Resource Centre at Nanyang Polytechnic here.

2. This Centre has its genesis from a meeting with senior executives from Sony Computer Entertainment Asia or SCE Asia some time back. At that meeting, SCE Asia shared with IDA its plans to encourage more creation of Asian content. This is also in line with IDA’s Connected Games Programme, which aims to develop Singapore as a leading regional centre for games content and services. With the strong support of Yasuda-san, the efforts to set up this Games Resource Centre were accelerated.

3. To develop Singapore into a leading regional centre for Connected Games would require the collective efforts of both the government and industry. IDA is taking a holistic approach by attracting companies to deploy connected games services, anchor market leaders, and build the ICT capabilities for the games ecosystem. We are pleased that industry players have been supportive of this programme and have helped us achieve good results in the short time since the launch of the programme in June last year.

4. We believe that Singapore’s robust infrastructure and strong IP regime provides a conducive environment for international digital media companies such as Sony to conduct research and development in their field, and explore new business opportunities here and in the region. These businesses will have the support of educational institutions such as Nanyang Polytechnic, which play a critical role in meeting the training needs of industry professionals and students.

5. Our small and mid-sized game companies require access to technology resources such as development toolkits and game engines to develop their offerings. IDA’s Games Resource Centres initiative under the Connected Games Programme seeks to facilitate this. The setting up of the Nanyang Polytechnic Games Resource Centre is therefore a timely effort, as it will enable many games development companies to have better access to games engines, technologies and tools, technical expertise and talent. We welcome industry players and educational institutions to come forward with collaboration ideas to add to the vibrancy of the games ecosystem.

6. We are pleased that Sony Computer Entertainment, a world leading console maker and video games company, has chosen to work with Singapore to set up a centre that focuses on building Playstation development capability for the game development community in Singapore and the region. Backed by Nanyang Polytechnic’s excellent track record in the area of digital media design, the Games Resource Centre will offer the local games industry the opportunity to build capabilities for developing games on connected consoles such as PLAYSTATION®3. PlayStation® is a well-known global brand. We hope to see, in the near future, more “Made-in-Singapore” games played on the PlayStation® consoles and by gamers around the world.

7. In addition, the competencies of our infocomm manpower will be boosted by the opportunity to learn from experts with specialist technical skills, industry domain knowledge and use world-class technology, especially in the field of digital media and entertainment. With the support provided to the Centre by SCE Asia’s trusted training partner, Premium Agency Inc., we are confident that Singapore’s game community will stand to benefit from this knowledge sharing. Indeed, games development opens up an exciting range of options to our young people who are attracted to enter the infocomm industry.

Conclusion

8. On this note, let me congratulate Sony Computer Entertainment Asia and Nanyang Polytechnic on this collaboration. I am confident that the partnership will result in a stronger and more vibrant games eco-system in Singapore. We hope to see more of such collaborations as it will certainly benefit the games industry. I wish all the partners and participants of this Games Resource Centre every success.

9. Thank you.