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| Video
games are fun! But video gaming is also a serious
business - with serious money being made. The
numbers are huge and growing at nearly 20% a year.
Last year – the video game industry raked
in $12.5 billion in just the USA alone –
far surpassing revenues from DVD sales, movie
box office receipts and even CD music sales. And
if you think Video Games are for kids –
think again: The average game buyer is 40 years
old, the average game player is 33 years old,
and 24% of gamers were over the age of 50. Gaming
is an industry booming with growth and innovation
– from mobile games to hugely popular virtual
worlds and multiplayer games – the opportunities
seem limitless. So what does this mean for investors?
And what exactly are the new growth opportunities,
and where are they going to be found? Join an
all-star panel to discuss the present and future
of the video games industry, and discover the
hottest opportunities and new ventures. |
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Schedule
| 5:00PM-6:00PM |
Poster Sessions/ Buffet Dinner/ Networking |
| 6:00PM-7:00PM |
Startup Company Presentations / Q & A |
| 7:00PM-7:30PM |
Poster Session/ Break |
| 7:30PM-8:30PM |
Panel
Discussion |
| Topic:"Video
Gaming – beyond the box" |
| 8:30PM-9:00PM |
Poster Session/ Networking |
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Moderator:
Dean Takahashi, Tech Talk
Columnist, San Jose Mercury
News |
Dean
Takahashi
|
Dean
Takahashi has been a journalist for 19 years,
most of it covering technology business news.
Currently, he is writing a Tech Talk column on
technology issues and product reviews, and he
is also blogging and podcasting on video games
at www.mercextra.com/gaming.
Separately, his Tech Talk blog covers all things
tech at www.mercextra.com/blogs/takahashi.
He started his current stint at the Mercury News
as a hardware writer in 2002. Previously, he was
a senior writer at the Red Herring magazine from
2000 to 2002. Before that, he was a staff writer
in the San Francisco office of the Wall Street
Journal from 1996 to 2000. His first job at the
Mercury News was as a chip industry reporter from
1994 to 1996. Before that, Los Angeles Times Orange
County Edition, the Orange County Register, and
the Dallas Times Herald. He has a master’s
degree in journalism from Northwestern University
(1987) and a bachelor’s degree in English
from UC Berkeley (1986). He is the author of two
books, “The Xbox 360 Uncloaked” published
in 2006 and “Opening the Xbox” published
in 2002. |
| Panelist:
Ed
Fries, Former Vice President, Game Publishing,
Microsoft |
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Ed
Fries created his first video games for the Atari
800, back in the early 1980s. After a short diversion
to get a BS in Computer Science, he joined Microsoft
in 1986, and spent the next 10 years as one of
the founding developers of both Excel and Word.
He left the Office team to pursue his passion
for interactive entertainment and created Microsoft
Game Studios. Over the next 8 years he grew the
team from 50 people to over 1200, published more
than 100 games including more than a dozen million+
sellers, co-founded the Xbox project, and made
Microsoft one of the leaders in the interactive
entertainment business. In January of 2004, Ed
left Microsoft and now enjoys spending more time
with his wife and young sons, as well as serving
as a director, advisor and consultant to a broad
range of publishers and game developers around
the world. |
| Panelist:
Michael
Pole, CEO, Trilogy Studios |
Michael
Pole
|
As
CEO of Trilogy Studios, Michael Pole is setting
a benchmark for Virtual World and Next Generation
game development in terms of financing and business
models that support the industry’s changing
climate. Throughout his 20-year career in the
entertainment industry, Pole has produced dozens
of hit game titles including NASCAR Racing, Knockout
Kings, Simpsons: Hit & Run, Simpsons: Road
Rage, Chronicles of Riddick, The Hulk, AVP2 and
No One Lives Forever. Prior to co-founding Trilogy
Studios in 2005, Pole was Executive Vice President,
Worldwide Product Development for Vivendi Universal
Games where he spearheaded the deal that resulted
in the successful sale of Fox Interactive to Vivendi
Universal Games. Michael has held similar positions
with two of the industry’s most successful
companies, Activision and Electronic Arts, where
he led production efforts for hit franchises and
played a key role in studio negotiations with
hardware manufacturers, developers, talent and
content providers.Michael’s
background also includes 10 years developing television
and animation programming for CBS, NBC and ABC
Entertainment. |
| Panelist:
Colin Sebastian, Senior Research Analyst, Lazard
Capital Markets |
Colin
Sebastian
|
Colin
Sebastian joined Lazard Capital Markets in 2006
as a senior equity research analyst covering Internet
and interactive entertainment. Prior to joining
Lazard, Colin covered these sectors for Thomas
Weisel Partners and was part of the Internet team
that ranked #2 in an annual Greenwich survey.
Prior to Thomas Weisel, Colin was an associate
analyst at SoundView Technology Group.
Colin is widely quoted in industry and financial
media and publications, including the Wall Street
Journal, Investors Business Daily, Financial Times,
New York Times, CNBC and Bloomberg. |
| Panelist:
John Welch, President and Chief Executive Officer,
PlayFirst |
|
|
John
Welch is a co-founder, President and CEO of
PlayFirst, the leading publisher of highly-original
games made for casual gamers wherever they play.
One of the most visible figures in the casual
games industry today. Prior to forming PlayFirst,
John spent five years at Shockwave.com (now
owned by Viacom) as the company's Vice President
of Games and Product where he drove the product
strategy and acquisitions for Shockwave.com.
While at Shockwave.com, John helped build the
site into one of the Internet's top games portals
and discovered some of the top independent game
developers in the world. Prior to this, John
worked at SEGA where he led the specification
effort for the Sega Dreamcast Network. He has
also served as a steering committee member of
the International Game Developers Association
(IGDA), Online Games, and Casual Games groups.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics
with Computer Science from MIT and a Master's
Degree in Computer Science from the University
of Massachusetts. |
| Panelist:
Mark Jacobstein, Entrepreneur-In-Residence,
Charles River Ventures |
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|
Most recently Mark
was an Executive Vice President at loopt, a
Sequoia and NEA-backed company that has developed
the world's most successful "social mapping"
service. Previously Mark was President of Publishing
and a member of the founding team for Digital
Chocolate, one of the world's largest publishers
of mobile games. Mark is perhaps best known
as the originator of fantasy sports on the internet.
In 1994, Mark co-founded Small World Sports,
the Internet's first fantasy sports Web site,
where he served as CEO before selling the company
to The Sporting News. Mark also co-founded Small
World Software, an Internet technology consultancy,
which he sold to iXL in 1998. Mark studied Computer
Science at Harvard before starting his career
as a software developer at Bloomberg L.P.
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