Hundreds of video game makers including star U.S. developer Activision Blizzard Inc. gathered Thursday to unveil their latest projects at South Korea’s largest electronic gaming expo.

The four-day event, G-Star 2009, kicked off in this southern port city after four years of being held in the Seoul metropolitan area. The expo will highlight future trends in online games, its organizing committee said.

Among the 199 participating firms, hailing from 21 different countries, were South Korean online game giants NCsoft, NHN and Nexon.

In a country with a cable TV channel completely dedicated to Activision BIizzard’s original Starcraft strategy game, the unveiling of a playable version of Starcraft II was one of G-Star’s most highly anticipated draws.

G-star has divided its online game zone into four themes — massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), first-person shooter (FPS), action and casual games.

New game technologies using devices such as Internet-based TVs and smartphones were also to be introduced during the event, which organizers expected would draw some 200,000 people.

Over 180,000 people visited the expo last year, with 162 companies from 17 countries participating.

YonhapNewsAgency

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