As we reported in December, China is not usually known for its love of free thinking when it comes to games, but with an economy raging away and a population obviously hungry to play, it comes as only a slight surprise that the games development community is now looking to the east for more input.

The CMP Game Group, the group behind the Games Developers Conference, has announced that it's launching a further developers event in China. Imaginatively dubbed GDC China, the event is scheduled for this summer.

The event will be shorter than the San Francisco conference, lasting three days. How it will compare in scale is yet to be seen.

CMP's teaming with media and events company IDG to host GDC China, which will take place in Shanghai. Why China? You might ask. Fortunately, senior conference manager of GDC, Meggan Scavio, has something to say on the subject:



In terms of the content of the conference details are non-existent at this point. GDC China has a website up and running but currently it consists of only a front page. What the site does tell us is that the event “offers an insiders perspective on key regional issues such as outsourcing, next-gen game design and mobile, online and casual gaming.”

Back in San Francisco GDC's getting into full swing, with Jeff Minter calling Microsoft crap, Nokia making major announcements about N*Gage and Phil Harrison's keynote leaking onto the internet like a burst yoghurt. Keep your eyes on SPOnG for more GDC news as it breaks.

GDC China will take place from August 27th - 29th.