PS Vita, Obsidian and Gamestop talks added to GDC Europe line-up

More heavy-hitting lectures have been added to the GDC Europe 2011 schedule, which is shaping up admirably.

Gamasutra reports George Bain, Sony's developer relations account manager, will give a talk entitled PlayStation Vita Business Opportunities.

As part of the Business and Marketing portion of the conference, the talk will cover development tools, features, and PSN integration.

Also on the business side, Gamestop's vice president Steve Nix will front a presentation called GameStop’s Digital Strategy: Bringing Immersive Gaming to a Digital Audience". This should be particularly interesting, as of all the major retail chains, gamestop is making the most noise about embracing the digital model, and has recently acquired Stardock's Impulse and Spawn Labs.

Meanwhile, PRG specialist developer Obisidian is sending Joshua Sawyer to add to the Design roster, talking The Evolution of RPG Mechanics: From Die Rolls to Hit Volumes. The talk will discuss how RPGs have evolved as a genre and picked up elements of other types of games, as well as the difficulties of balancing RPG mechanics.

The three newly-announced talks join a line-up bristling with gems. GDC Europe 2011 will be held in Cologne from August 15.