E3Expo Unveils Agenda for 2006 Video Game
Business Conference Program; 34 Sessions Led by More Than
175 Industry Leaders Examine Next Generation Trends and
Successful Business Models
Tuesday March 14, 2006
E3Expo Unveils Agenda for 2006 Video Game
Business Conference Program; 34 Sessions Led by More Than
175 Industry Leaders Examine Next Generation Trends and
Successful Business Models
E3Expo
2006 WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2006--The
2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo) conference
and workshop program will include more than 175 video
game industry experts who will explore key industry
issues in the areas of business strategy, technology and
creativity, and marketing analysis, the Entertainment
Software Association (ESA) announced today. The
conference program will be held May 9-11 at the Los
Angeles Convention Center.
Conference tracks
for 2006 -- "Creativity and Technology: Taking
Control of the Next Generation of Gameplay,"
"Business Strategy: Embracing a New Set of Best
Practices" and "Market Analysis: Understanding
the New Digital Entertainment Landscape" -- will
examine a wide variety of critical subjects affecting the
video game business. Topics will include: secrets of the
best-selling titles; management of business risk; mobile
game opportunities; the integration of entertainment; and
new trends in game development. (Please see full list of
sessions below.) In addition to conference sessions,
E3Expo 2006 will offer a series of in-depth workshops and
special midday sessions on Tuesday, May 9, which will
provide attendees with a more in-depth look at key
business issues.
Attendees can
register for the conferences and workshops at www.e3expo.com,
where daily schedules and additional conference program
information are posted. Please note: E3Expo Conference
Program alumni from 2004 and 2005 will receive a special
discounted rate (a savings of more than $200) if
registered by April 7, 2006. The following conference
sessions will be held May 10 and 11 at the Los Angeles
Convention Center. (Please note: check www.e3expo.com
as speakers are being added daily.)
CONFERENCE SESSIONS
TRACK 1: Creativity and Technology: Taking Control of the
Next
Generation of Gameplay
-- The Inner Game: What Goes into the Industry's
Best-Selling Titles
Moderator: Eric Zimmerman, Co-Founder and CEO -- gamelab
Panelists: Louis Castle, Vice President, Creative
Development --
Electronic Arts -- Los Angeles
Kelly Flock, Executive Vice President of Worldwide
Publishing --
THQ, Inc.
Julien Gerighty, Senior Producer -- Ubisoft Entertainment
(Splinter Cell Double Agent)
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Chief Creative Officer -- Q
Entertainment
(Meteos, Lumines)
Peter Molyneux, Managing Director -- Lionhead Studios
(The Movies)
Richard Rouse, III, Director of Game Design -- Midway
Games (The
Suffering)
-- Franchise Power: Understanding the DNA of the
Industry's Greatest
Games
Moderator: Jeff Green, Editor-in-Chief, Computer Gaming
World --
Ziff Davis
Panelists: Ed Boon, Creative Director -- Midway Games
(Mortal
Kombat)
Grant Collier, President -- Infinity Ward (Call of Duty
series)
Soren Johnson, Designer and Programmer -- Firaxis Games
(Civilization IV)
Hanno Lemke, General Manager -- Electronic Arts,
Vancouver (Need
for Speed series)
Yannis Mallat, Vice President of New Intellectual
Property --
Ubisoft Entertainment (Prince of Persia series)
-- Cracking the Code of Creativity: Drawing Novelty, Awe
and
Adventure from Traditional Genres
Moderator: N'Gai Croal, General Editor, Technology --
Newsweek
Panelists: Lucy Bradshaw, VP, Head of Production and
Development
-- Maxis (Spore)
Rob Kay, Lead Designer -- Harmonix (Guitar Hero)
-- Massively Cross-Platform: Closing in on the Dream of
One Game,
Many Platforms
Moderator: Jessica Mulligan, Author/Consultant
Panelists: Laura Fryer, Director Advance Technology Group
--
Microsoft Game Studies
Richard Garriott, Executive Producer -- NCsoft
Ichiro Otobe, Chief Strategist -- Square Enix Co., Ltd
John Smedley, President -- Sony Online Entertainment
Mike Yuen, Senior Director, Gaming Group -- QUALCOMM
Internet
Services
-- Perfecting the Mix of Story, Character Development and
Interactivity
Moderator: Ian Davis, Ph.D., CEO and Founder -- Mad Doc
Software,
LLC (Empire Earth 2)
Panelists: David Cage, CEO and Founder -- Quantic Dream
(Indigo
Prophecy)
Richard Dansky, Lead Clancy Writer -- Ubisoft
Entertainment
David Jaffe, Game Director -- Sony Computer Entertainment
America
(God of War)
Marc Laidlaw, Writer/Game Designer -- Valve Software
(Half-Life,
Half-Life 2)
Neil Young, Vice President, General Manager -- Electronic
Arts --
Los Angeles
-- How Mobile Game Creators are Using High-Speed Networks
and
High-end Handsets to Make Wireless Games Better
Panelists: Eric Albert, Head of North American Operations
--
Gameloft
Satoshi Nakajima, Chief Technology Officer -- Square Enix
Co., Ltd
Robert Nashak, Chief Creative Officer -- Glu Mobile
Eberhard Schoneburg, Chief Executive Officer --
Artificial Life
(V-girl)
Lincoln Wallen, Chief Technology Officer -- Electronic
Arts Mobile
-- Sneak Peeks: Behind the Scenes of Three Upcoming
Blockbuster
Titles
Moderator: Geoff Keighley, Contributing Writer --
Business 2.0
Panelists: Cliff Bleszinski, Lead Designer -- Epic Games
(showing
Gears of War)
Other panelists to be announced shortly.
TRACK 2: Business Strategy: Navigating New Avenues of
Success
-- Persistent World Possibilities: Taking the Online
Experience to
the Next Level
Moderator: Richard Vogel, consultant
Panelists: Jeff Anderson, President and CEO -- Turbine,
Inc.
John Blakely, Senior Producer -- Sony Online
Entertainment
Mike Goslin, Vice President of Virtual Reality Studio --
Walt
Disney Internet Group (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Joe Keene, Co-Chairman & CEO -- Perpetual
Entertainment (Gods &
Heroes, Star Trek Online)
Chris Lee, Senior Manager of Publishing, Strategy &
Planning Group
-- Webzen, Inc.
-- When Media Giants Muscle In: Why the Game Industry
Should Care
about the Acquisition Appetite of News Corp., Viacom and
Others
Moderator/Panelist: Gene Mauro, Owner -- Mauro Media, LLC
Panelists: Graham Hopper, Senior VP and General Manager,
Buena
Vista Games
Ross Levinsohn, President -- Fox Interactive Media
Stuart Snyder, General Manager -- Game Tap, Turner Gaming
Jeff Yapp, Executive Vice President -- MTV Networks Music
and Logo
Enterprise Group
-- Inside the Production Pipeline: Managing Costs,
Expectations and
Competition
Moderator: Emilie 'Tobi' Saulnier, Chief Executive
Officer &
Founder -- 1st Playable Production
Panelists: Andrew Ayre, Founding Partner &
Co-President --
Foundation 9 Entertainment
Elizabeth Loverso, Director of Product Development --
Ubisoft
Entertainment
Samantha Ryan, Chief Executive Officer -- Monolith
Productions
-- The Next Frontier in Funding: How Hedge Funds, Foreign
Money and
Non-traditional Financing are Creating Opportunity for
Gamemakers
Moderator: Michael Gartenberg, Vice President and
Research
Director -- Jupiter Research
Panelists: Craig Cooper, General Partner -- Softbank
Capital
Partners
Andrew Goldman, CEO, Director of Production -- Pandemic
Studios
Daniel James, Chief Executive Officer -- Three Rings
Design, Inc.
Mark Kern, President and CEO, Red 5 Studios
Michael Pole, CEO -- Trilogy Studios
-- Casual Game World Tour: Learning from the Best that
Asia and
Europe Have to Offer
Panelists: David Moon, Head of Games Business Group --
NHN USA
Timo Soininen, CEO -- Sulake Labs (Habbo Hotel)
Calvin Yoo, Director, International Business Development
-- Nexon
Corporation (Kart Rider)
-- In-game and Around-game Ad Update: The Marketer's
Perspective
Moderator: Dave Madden, Executive VP Sales &
Marketing --
WildTangent, Inc.
Panelists: Carol Kruse, Vice President Interactive
Marketing --
Coca Cola
Monika Madrid, Senior Manager, Strategic Sales &
Partnerships --
Ubisoft Entertainment
David Rubin, Brand Development Director -- Unilever (Axe)
-- Future Shock or Smooth Sailing Ahead: How Game
Industry Leaders
are Managing Risk
Panelists: Lee Jacobsen, Vice President of Business --
Midway
Games
Dan Kelly, Vice President of Global Business Development
-- THQ,
Inc.
Jon Niermann, Senior VP and Managing Director Asia
Publishing --
Electronic Arts
TRACK 3: Marketing Analysis: How to Read the Market Ahead
of the
Competition
-- Startup Strategies: Where Opportunities Still Exist
Moderator: Jason Della Rocca, Program Director --
International
Game Developers Association
Panelists: Erik Bethke, CEO and Founder -- Go Pets (Go
Pets)
Michael Scandizzo, President -- Castaway Entertainment
Warren Spector, President -- Junction Point Studios, Inc.
Gordon Walton, consultant
-- Reaching the Connected Consumer: Tapping Their
Personal
Networks and Power of Persuasion
Panelists: Kathleen Gasperini, Senior Vice President --
Label
Networks
Jillian Goldberg, Vice President Marketing -- Electronic
Arts
Bill Stone, Chief Operating Officer, Amp'd Mobile
-- Entertainment Business Summit: Where the Increased
Integration of
Music, Movies, TV and Games is Headed
Panelists: Mark Caplan, Executive Director Interactive --
Sony
Pictures Consumer Products
Emily Della Maggiora, Vice President -- Nielsen
Interactive
Entertainment
Nick Earl, Vice President and General Manager --
Electronic Arts
Bill Kispert, Vice President of Interactive -- Universal
Studios
-- Profiting from Innovative Online Communities
Panelists: Greg Canessa, Group Manager, Xbox Live Arcade
--
Microsoft Corporation
Michael Cassidy, CEO and Founder -- XFire, Inc.
Chip Lange, Vice President, Marketing EA Online --
Electronic Arts
Cory Ondrejka, Vice President of Product Development --
Linden Lab
(Second Life)
-- World View: Analysts Take Measure of the Global
Marketplace
Moderator: Michael Pachter, Senior Analyst -- Wedbush
Morgan
Securities
Panelists: Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst
-- The
NPD Group (USA)
Ben Keen, Chief Analyst -- Screen Digest (UK)
Antonio Tambunan, Associate Director, Head of Asia --
Bear Steams
Asia (Korea, China)
-- The Wireless Revolution: Where to Seize Opportunity in
the New
Mobile Game Marketplace
Moderator: Eric Goldberg, Managing Director -- Crossover
Technologie
Panelists: Eric Bilange, Chief Technology Officer --
MFORMA
Minard Hamilton, Executive Vice President of Sales and
Marketing
-- JAMDAT Mobile, Inc.
Paul Maglione, President -- Vivendi Universal Games
Mobile
Alan Welsman, VP of European Product Management and
Marketing --
InfoSpace
Midori Yuasa, General Manager and Senior Vice President
-- Capcom
Mobile & Interactive Media
-- The New Gamemaker: Trends in Game Making and
Publishing
Moderator: Ben Sawyer, Co-founder -- Digitalmill
Panelists: Amy Bendotti, Senior Recruiter -- Monolith
Productions
Sarah Branscom, Manager of Human Resources -- High Moon
Studios
Alan Yu, Director, Studio Artist & Repertoire --
Electronic Arts
-- Los Angeles
In addition to conference sessions, twelve in-depth
workshops will be
offered on May 9, including:
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
-- Partnering with Madison Avenue: How to Profit from the
Prominence
of Games
Moderator: Michael Goodman, Senior Analyst, Media &
Entertainment
Strategies -- Yankee Group
Panelists: Craig Allen, Chief Executive Officer -- Spark
Unlimited
(Call of Duty: Finest Hour)
Kevin Browne, General Manager, New Media & Franchise
Development,
Xbox Live -- Microsoft Corporation
Arden Doss, Managing Director -- Propaganda GEM
Louis Figueroa, Director of Business Development -- Sony
Online
Entertainment
Julie Shumaker, Director of Videogame Advertising --
Electronic
Arts
-- Casual Games Update: How New Business Models are
Accelerating the
Growth of Today's Game Marketplace
Moderator: John Welch, President and CEO -- PlayFirst,
Inc.
Panelists: Mike Burns, CEO and Chief Creative Officer --
Fuel
Industries
James Gwertzman, Director of Business Development --
PopCap Games
James Smith, Producer -- Reflexive Entertainment
Alex St. John, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder
--
WildTangent, Inc.
Dave Williams, CMO and General Manager, Games -- Atom
Entertainment
-- New Rules in Play: Deciphering the Modern-Day Game
Deal
Moderator: Joshua Grode, Partner -- Liner Yankelevitz
Sunshine &
Regenstreif LLP
Panelists: Carianne Brown, Director of Motion Picture and
Television Music -- Universal Music Publishing
Germaine Gioia-Horner, Vice President of Licensing -- THQ
Inc.
Patrick O'Brien, Vice President Business Affairs --
Electronic
Arts
Tim Riley, Worldwide Executive of Music -- Activision,
Inc.
-- Next-Gen Game Design: How the New Consoles Stack Up
Moderator: Trent Ward, Creative Director -- Backbone
Entertainment
Panelists: Mario Coculuzzi, Senior Producer -- Ubisoft
Studios --
Montreal (King Kong)
Don Daglow, President and CEO -- Stormfront Studios
Mike Kulas, President and Founder -- Volition (Saints
Row)
Alain Tascan, Vice President and General Manager --
Electronic
Arts -- Montreal
-- Where Games Fit into the New Digital Economy
Moderator: Richard Ow, Director, Games -- The NPD Group
Panelists: Shawn Hardin, Vice President, Content
Operations --
Yahoo! Media Group
Jennifer MacLean, Senior Director, Games and
Entertainment --
Comcast
Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Audio --
Electronic
Arts TRAX
Rich Wickham, Director, Windows Gaming Business --
Microsoft
-- Games Get Up and Go: Getting the Most out of PSP, DS
and Upcoming
Mobile Handsets
Moderator: Matthew Bellows, General Manager & Vice
President --
Floodgate Entertainment
Panelists: Guha Bala, President -- Vicarious Visions,
Inc.
Greg Ballard, President and Chief Executive Officer --
Glu Mobile
Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, Director, Broadband & Gaming
-- Parks
Associates
Tim Harrison, Head of Games -- Vodafone Group Services
John Koller, Senior Product Manager, PSP -- Sony Online
Entertainment America
-- Blueprint for a Killer Title: How the Pros Do It
Moderator/Panelist: Aaron Loeb, Director of Business
Development
-- Planet Moon Studios
Panelists: Karthik Bala, Chief Executive Officer --
Vicarious
Visions, Inc.
Matt Firor, Vice President of Development, Executive
Producer,
Mythic Entertainment
Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO -- BioWare, Corporation
Gonzague de Vallois, Vice President Publishing --
Gameloft
-- Digital Distribution Lays Down Tracks: Where
Direct-to-Consumer
Game Distribution Stands Today
Moderator: Gabe Zichermann, Chief Marketing/Strategy
Officer --
Boonty, Inc.
Panelists: Eric Hartness, Senior Director of Marketing --
EA
Nation -- Electronic Arts
Ray Muzyka, Joint CEO -- BioWare, Corporation
Royal O'Brien, Founder/CEO -- Game xStream
Yoav Tzurya, Chief Operating Officer -- Exent
Technologies
-- Special Midday Sessions
Participating in one of three lunchtime sessions is Will
Wright,
Maxis chief designer and creator of The Sims series of
games and
the upcoming Spore.
About E3Expo
E3Expo is the
world's premiere trade show for computer and video games
and related products. The show, now in its twelfth year,
is owned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA),
the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business
and public affairs needs of the companies publishing
interactive games for video game consoles, handheld
devices, personal computers and the Internet. For more
information, please visit www.e3expo.com
or www.theesa.com.
E3Expo is a trade
event, not open to the general public. Only working
journalists with qualified media outlets will be eligible
to register for media badges. No one under the age of 18
will be admitted, including infants. This policy is
strictly enforced.
Attention Media:
E3Expo 2006 is for
the first time offering early access to the show floor on
Wednesday, May 10, from 9-11 a.m., to pre-registered
media only (media who have submitted complete credentials
to the E3Expo Media Relations Team by April 13, 2006).
E3Expo strongly encourages all media to take advantage of
online media registration at www.e3expo.com
to complete pre-registration for the 2006 show.
