Yoon Song-yi, NCSoft CSO, Attends Saudi 'Global Sports Conference'

Discussion on the Future and Growth of the Gaming Industry with Global Game Company Leaders

Yoon Song-yi, Chief Strategy Officer of NCSoft, attending NGSC. (Photo by NCSoft)

Yoon Song-yi, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO, President) of NCSoft, attended the global sports conference ‘The New Global Sport Conference (NGSC)’ held in Saudi Arabia.

NGSC was hosted by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Esports Federation on the 23rd (local time) in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

At NGSC, Saudi Arabia announced that it will host the Esports World Cup in Riyadh starting from the summer of 2024. To announce the hosting of the world’s largest esports tournament, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, attended the conference.

Yoon Song-yi, CSO, participated in the conference as a panelist upon invitation from the Saudi Arabian government.

The first session discussing the future of esports featured panelists including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Formula E Chairman Alejandro Agag, and football player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yoon Song-yi, CSO, attended the second keynote session titled ‘New Pathways to Grow the Global Gaming Audience.’ Alongside panelists such as Ubisoft’s CMO Jean-Michel Detoc, Sony’s CSO Toshimoto Mitomo, Sega’s COO Shuji Utsumi, and Take-Two Interactive’s CSO Michael Worosz, she shared insights on the continuous growth of the global gaming market.

CSO Yoon emphasized the importance of user communities, stating, “The success of a game is determined by how active its user community is. A broad range of content that can satisfy casual to hardcore users must be the foundation to activate the entire community, so careful consideration is needed from the game planning stage.”

Yoon Song-yi, who serves as an advisory board member of Stanford University’s Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI), stressed the importance of AI technology for the continuous growth and innovative future of the gaming industry.

She said, “AI used in game development is not new; it is a refinement of technologies we have used in the past. By utilizing generative AI from the game planning stage, developers can enhance creativity and productivity, and overall development processes can be streamlined.”

CSO Yoon will also attend the ‘7th Future Investment Initiative (FII)’ forum held in Riyadh from the 24th to the 26th as a panelist upon invitation from the Saudi government. FII is an international conference held annually in Saudi Arabia since 2017 and is known as the ‘Davos of the Desert,’ representing the Middle East’s leading economic forum.

The FII Institute, which hosts this forum, is a non-profit foundation established in line with Saudi Arabia’s national strategy ‘Vision 2030.’ It holds the FII forum annually under the main theme ‘Impact on Humanity.’

This year’s theme is ‘The New Compass.’ CSO Yoon plans to share opinions with global leaders on the impact of new technologies such as generative AI and VR on the entertainment industry landscape, as well as growth strategies for global businesses embracing cultural diversity.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.