Will GDC have to be cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic?

Interesting other conferences are shutting down. In my offices GDC plans continue to move forward..

I think it might be devastating to the division at InformaTech that runs GDC to cancel it. Maybe if the city of SF forces it?

Anything could happen of course. I imagine hand sanitizer will be in abundance at the Expo this year.

I doubt it. It doesn't seem like something that would get affected by the coronavirus. Especially since it hasn't really spread much outside of China. At least, last time I checked.

Nagle said:
Will GDC have to be cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic?

I'm going to state the obvious and say that nobody knows and that it's pointless to speculate until it's announced one way or the other.

When is GDC scheduled? Late enough to allow for the disease to spread globally, making the difference between Chinese not attending and everyone not attending?

fleabay said:

Nagle said:
Will GDC have to be cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic?

I'm going to state the obvious and say that nobody knows and that it's pointless to speculate until it's announced one way or the other.

Don't speculate? The whole Internet turns on speculation. :P

@undefined

The conference just cancelled because of the virus was in Spain not China.

Figuring out if th e conference is on or not is important because money is being spent on non refundable plane tickets and hotel rooms. Would prefer not to flush $2k+ down the toilet

greggman said:
Would prefer not to flush $2k+ down the toilet

So make sure you buy refundable tickets and accommodations.

Mobile World Congress, biggest phone show, in Barcelona, Spain just cancelled.

https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/gsma-statement-on-mwc-barcelona-2020/

greggman said:
Figuring out if th e conference is on or not is important

I would be interested in seeing that algorithm.

@Tom Sloper Price of non refundable ticket $1000. Price of refundable ticket $3500.

Moderation note: Removed a duplicated but needlessly inflammatory reply - please keep discussion civil all. ?

If the cost is prohibitive, you might consider ordering the tickets indirectly through a group that offers travel insurance, or getting independent insurance coverage for it.

And as a timely news story: Insurers rush to strip coronavirus from event-cancellation coverage

I think it is unlikely the event would be cancelled. Even so, if you cannot afford the loss of not attending after buying the tickets, I'd strongly consider either insurance or not going. For businesses the cost of a ticket is a minor blip on the budget, which is partly why the costs are so high. If the cost would break the bank, don't go. It is a big event, but not worth risking breaking your bank.

Viruses don't like warm weather, so it would be better to host "international" events during the summer, and not in the middle of winter. But, obviously won't happen since everyone is on their own schedule.

Mmm chinese flu..

Anyway since here we are thebpeople that can make it dissapear, anyone figure it out how to dispose the virus without affecting healthy cells?

I have no knoledge about viruses but wat about forcing every cell stip if a virus to throw its rna for further processing… i kniw this sounds trivial and its hard to come by but whenever the reason this event occured, noone is willing to study anything.. i bet these lonely ships with all diseases that they work with have only like a fan downsampling few components and a microscope, not to mention invloving people from lhc, but if they studied nuclear physics then i bet they have narrowed thinking that can't help. Really people how do you want to improove?

This is relevant: https://www.androidcentral.com/sony-facebook-pulls-out-gdc-2020-due-coronavirus-concerns

Just one day after announcing it wouldn't be attending PAX East, Sony confirmed that it also won't be attending the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this March in San Francisco also due to coronavirus concerns.

…

On the same day, Facebook, which owns VR company Oculus, also announced it won't be attending GDC in either capacity. Chris Pruett, the director of content ecosystem at Oculus, said in a statement, "Out of concern for the health and safety of our employees, our dev partners, and the GDC community as a whole, Facebook's AR/VR and Gaming teams won't be attending this year's Game Developers Conference due to the evolving public health risks related to COVID-19."

Well not that it's anyone's fault but yea, I'm out about $3k for air fare and airbnb fees that are non-refundable. (didn't get my GDC pass yet)

I suspect with Sony and FB pulling out it will only be a few more days before Microsoft, Google, Nintendo also pull out followed by Epic, Unity, Valve. The show might not get technically cancelled but if not it will effectively be cancelled.

That story just made the Washington Post. Facebook and Oculus are headquartered within commute distance of GDC. Sony also pulled out of PAX East. IBM just pulled out of the RSA conference in San Francisco, which starts in four days.

Well it looks like the coronavirus is getting worse. It's now spread to multiple countries. It's possible now that the conference might be cancelled. If not canceled, many may just pull out, making it effectively cancelled. Many have already pulled out, so we might see even more.

deltaKshatriya said:
Well it looks like the coronavirus is getting worse. It's now spread to multiple countries.

They should add to Plague Inc. a special level named “Diamond Princess”…