MGS partners with CTM for 5G experience this year

MGEMA Chairman Jay Chun

This year’s “MGS Entertainment Show” will focus on technology, namely the development of 5G technology, Chairman of the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA) Jay Chun said yesterday during the organizing committee’s press conference.

Chun noted in his speech that 5G technology “will be a powerful driver in the development and promotion of many industries,” in which he included the entertainment and gaming industries.

When announcing the event’s collaboration with local telecommunications company CTM, Chun added that the 2019 MGS will be “the first technical application show in town to [adopt] 5G technology.”

“This year, our collaboration with CTM will enable the recreational technology industry to participate in and make use of the on-site 5G network and technological applications, and take a major step towards innovation and industrial development. Besides, to create a personal experience for participants anticipating the charms of 5G, we and CTM will set up a special ‘5G Experiential Hall,’ displaying various 5G applications – from VR entertainment apps […] to 360-degree HD video transmission,” Chun said.

Questioned by the media on how 5G technology could represent a step forward for the gaming manufacturing industry specifically, Chun said, “5G [technology] is the future of communication. But in the meantime, and especially in [the gaming] mass market, all the machines are linked through a landline [network] and when you to try to move the machines it’s a very complicated [process] as you need to move all the network cables.”

“But, if in the near future we can connect the machines through 5G [technology], then we can move the equipment around very easily. And also, if we want to change or update the content of the games it would be very easy.”

Chun said that the bet on the application of 5G technology has come in the wake of the “development pace of the Macau SAR’s economic diversification.”

As for the event itself, Chun said that this year, MGS would see its floor space to grow by one-third to a total of 20,000 square feet. This will feature seven major areas, namely leisure technology, integrated resort procurement, tourism culture, gaming equipment, hotel environmental protection, hotel supplies, and security products and services.

This growth is also expected to correspond with a similar growth in exhibitors.

In 2018, over 200 exhibitors participated in MGS and were visited by over 17,000 professionals in the sector from 54 different countries and regions. Buyers most commonly came from Japan, Singapore and the U.S.

Following last year’s MGS Summit topic theme, “Global Digital Entertainment,” this year the digital gaming industry will continue to be at the center of the summit, with the theme “Innovative Forces, Winning Abroad, Competing in the Future.”
The 2019 Summit will include four major sections: “Transformation and Innovation of the 2019 Gaming Industry;” “Sina Asia E- sports Industry Summit;” “Sail Scientifically and Survival and Challenges of Overseas Living;” and “Future Development Trends of 5G Cloud Gaming.”

It will aim to create a professional communication platform for both the gaming and esports industries, and assist enterprises to export new technologies, skills and concepts, and promote the sustainable development of the industry.