Casual Games Conference Early Registration Ends July 11, 2005
Leading developers, publishers and distributors converge on Seattle on July 19-20, 2005
SEATTLE, Washington - July 6, 2005 - Early registration for the Casual Games Conference ends July 11, 2005. Attendees who register by July 11 pay only $195, saving $200 off the $395 registration fee. The Casual Games Conference takes place July 19-20, 2005 in Seattle, Washington and provides insights to the business opportunities and design considerations required for developers, publishers and distributors to succeed in this rapidly-expanding game industry segment. Register now at http://www.CasualGamesConference.com/register/
The Casual Games Conference is sponsored by industry leaders Microsoft Casual Games Group, Real Networks, Nokia, Sandlot Games, shockwave.com, Game Instinct and DigiPen. Media partners include Moby Games, GameDev.net, Gamesindustry.biz and Business Wire.
Casual Games Conference Schedule
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
** Multiplayer
What are the current business models for multiplayer and community based games? What infrastructure exists/is being created to support multiplayer and community games? What portion of the distributors will be supporting/pushing for MP content in the future?
- Moderator: Jay Moore
- Daniel James, Three Rings
- Hugh De Loayza, EA
- Teemu Huuhtanen, Sulake Corporation
** Neopets!
An inside look at the immersive advertising of Neopets with NeoPets' Vice President, Business Development & Immersive Advertising Eric Greenwald. (oh and Viacom just recently paid $160 million for the Neopets website and its' 25 million members.)
- Eric Greenwald,
Vice President, Business Development & Immersive Advertising
Neopets
** Alternative Business: Marketing Models
What are the current business models beyond the 60 minutes try and buy? What are the most successful way to draw and keep people at a distribution site? Discuss: subscription models, targeted marketing, and branded IP.
- Moderator: Joel Brodie
- Shaul Olmert, Nickelodeon
- Paul Thelen, Big Fish Games
- Duncan Magee, Real Networks, Inc.
- Andrew Pedersen, Pogo
- Colin Cardwell, 3rd Sense
** Advergaming
Is advergaming the future of online gaming? What success have others seen? What tools and services exist for integrating advertisements? What are the ethical issues surrounding some implementations? What about adver supported web games? What is the customer's reaction to the model: are we moving to a tv or movie advertisement model?
- Moderator: Robb Lewis, Trymedia Systems
- Alex St. John, WildTangent
- Peter Glover, Shockwave
- Brian Robbins, Fuel Industries
- Garry Kitchen, Skyworks
- Shawn McMichael, Microsoft Casual Games Group
** FUN!
What makes a game rewarding and fun?
- Scott Kim
** CGC Party Sponsored by Microsoft Casual Games Group
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
** IGDA SIG Announcements
** Developing for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo DS
Opportunities and pitfalls for casual developers and publishers interested in developing games for handheld devices.
- Mark DeLoura, Sony
- Lindsey Gupton, Amaze Entertainment
- Chris Charla, Digital Eclipse
** Contracts and Royalties
Is the current split fair? What are the ramifications of the recent dip in publisher/developer royalties? Are the publishing efforts from distributors a side effect of an unfair split or the desire from the developers to minimize risk? How does the casual split compare to the core PC space?
- Moderator: James Gwertzman, Sprout Games
- Duncan Magee, Real Networks, Inc.
- Greg Mills, America Online
- Rich Roberts, PlayFirst
- David Nixon, Oberon Media, Inc.
- CJ Wolf, iWin
- David Walls, Funkitron, Inc.
** Wireless: Taking Casual Games to the Wireless Space
How casual games are an important part of the mobile games industry: opportunities for developers and how to tackle them.
- Moderator: Ken Ruck, Virgin Mobile USA
- Jason Ford, Sprint
- Mike Yuen, Qualcomm
- Juan Gril, Joju
** Appealing to the Casual Gamer
Is the demographic, design direction and quality bar for the casual game space changing? Will we start to see alternative game types as the market matures and broadens: casual strategy games, more complex story lines, more action titles...?
- Moderator: Wade Tinney, Large Animal Games
- Jason Kapalka, PopCap
- Nicholas Fortugno, gameLab
- David Rohrl, Pogo
- Eric Albert, Gameloft
** Designing and Marketing Skill and Tournament Based Games
What new opportunities exist for games following an alternative game design and marketing model such as skill and tournament based gaming? What alternative distribution models are companies using for their skill based games? (comment on machines in vegas and bars) How does the demographic and attach rate for skill and tournament based games compare to typical web games and community based games? What is the customer?s reaction to the skill based gaming? What types of government restrictions if any come into effect for skill based gaming? What is the projected growth of this market compared to the other areas of the casual game market?
- Moderator: Daniel Bernstein, Sandlot Games
- Paul Jensen, SkillJam
- Stephen Killeen, WorldWinner
- Joshua Howard, Microsoft Casual Games Group
- Adeo Ressi, Game Trust
- Steve Hoffman, Infospace Games
The early registration price of $195 ends July 11, 2005. Register now at http://www.CasualGamesConference.com/register/
About The Game Initiative
The Game Initiative is a leading producer of conferences and events for professionals in the computer and video game industry. The Initiative is chartered with the growth of the industry through events, public awareness, information and supporting programs and serves the needs of companies and people involved in producing interactive entertainment software and hardware for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. Game Initiative events include the Austin Game Conference, the Mobile Game Conference, the Women's Game Conference, The Advertising In Games Forum, Advertising In Games West, European Advertising In Games Forum, The Casual Games Conference, Game Technology Association Meetings and the How to Break into the Game Industry national conference series. More information about the Game Initiative can be found at http://www.GameConferences.com
For more information:
Cynthia Freese
512-658-4743