Manga artist Koji Maki and Hiroshi Matsuyama, the president of Fukuoka game developers "CyberConnect2," appeared as guests! Kenichi Nakashima of the Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center served as the moderator, with the talk covering three main themes, "the current state of the entertainment industry," "a look back at the MCPO AWARD" and the "future of the entertainment industry." During the discussion on "the current state of the entertainment industry," they spoke about advances in the digitalization of the manga industry, the growth of the electronic manga market ahead of printed copies, as well as the increasing demand for online games that can be played on smartphones and personal computers.

The "look back at the MCPO AWARD" section of the talk highlighted how unique it was that the award-winning works were not chosen from a commercial standpoint, but that instead the selection process was based purely on what was deemed interesting and caught the eye of the manga artists on the judging panel.

Kenichi Nakashima of the Fukuoka Asian Urban Research Center
During the discussions on the "future of the entertainment industry," it was highlighted that although there is a view the manga and gaming industry is getting smaller, from an international perspective it is actually increasing. To respond to this trend, business development has to proceed on a global level. This thoughtful debate really highlighted the importance of maintaining an international perspective!