Casuality Seattle Announces Bing Gordon, co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Electronic Arts as Keynote Speaker

Seattle, Washington - January 16th, 2006 - Today the Casual Games Association announced that Casuality Seattle: A Conference for Game Developers, Publishers and Distributors will be held at Benaroya Hall in Downtown Seattle on the 27th and 28th of June 2006. Networking and full day workshops for independent game developers and business and marketing executives will be held at Benaroya Hall on the 29th of June 2006.

Casuality Seattle is focused on the specific needs of game developers, publishers and distributors throughout the world on all delivery methods: download, online, retail and mobile. Casuality Seattle is one of a series of conference and networking events designed to facilitate the growth and maturation of the gaming industry through education and community collaboration.

Bing's long history in the games industry and his expertise makes him the perfect keynote to discuss casual games and the valuable lessons that the entire industry (development, publishing and distribution) can learn from the genre. Bing will help attendees explore the casual gaming market, drawing from EA's experiences with leading online games sites Pogo.com and Club Pogo.

"There is nothing casual about casual games! Casual game players are just as intense as 'core gamers', but like shorter, more social experiences. Casual game designers are just as creative as the 'core game' designers, without the burden of big staffs and expensive expectations," said Bing Gordon, Chief Creative Officer of EA. "Casuality Seattle will bring together some of the most innovative and thoughtful people in the entire games business."

"Washington State is very excited to have an event of this caliber in Seattle." said Kristina Erickson, Manager of the Washington State Interactive Media Program. "We are a global leader in this arena, and it makes perfect sense to have a quality game developer's conference here in Washington. This event will bring out the leaders of this fast-growing industry, and will set a new precedent for events to come."

Casuality Seattle is made possible by the support of:

Electronic Arts, MumboJumbo, King.com, Zylom, PopCap Games, Garage Games, CustomCD.us, Macrovision, PlayFirst, FreezeTag, Keyfactor, MobyGames, GameDev.net, GameDaily.

About Casuality Seattle:

Casuality Seattle is designed for industry professionals, industry executives, and professionals interested in creating, marketing and distributing games for everyone. The event will allow plenty of opportunities for networking and meetings as well as detailed and informative workshops for those looking to expand their knowledge of casual games.

The Casuality Seattle Steering Committee and Advisory Board include:

Andrew Pedersen - Executive Producer, Electronic Arts Pogo

Chris Early - Studio Manager, Microsoft Casual Games

David Roberts - CEO, PopCap Games

Derrick Morton - General Manager Mobile, Real Networks

Kristina Erickson - Washington State Interactive Media

Ron Dimant - Managing Director, United Developers

Rutger Peters - CEO Zylom Media Group B.V.

Craig Holland - CEO, FreezeTag

Eric Marcoullier - CEO, Minerva Software

Eric Tams - Senior Game Developer, PopCap Games

Heidi Perry - Vice President of Marketing, PlayFirst

James C. Smith - Producer, Reflexive Entertainment

Jay Moore - Business Development, Garage Games

Jenny Suh - CEO, RedJump

Jouni Salonen - Vice President of Business Development, j2x Technologies

Noah Heller - Senior Producer Product Development, Surreal Software a Midway Studio

Robb Lewis - Senior Director of Products, Macrovision

Victor Jimenez - Portal Architect, Northrop Grumman

For more information on Casuality Seattle please visit: http://seattle.casuality.org/

More information on community initiatives and services can be found on the Casual Games Association website: http://www.casualgamesassociation.org/

For more information please contact:

Christine Souliere

Christine@casuality.org