Over 300 Registered for NY Games Conference!
Last Chance to Register for Event!
On-site Registration Available!

Digital Media Wire is pleased to announce the launch of the first annual NY Games Conference, an executive media conference focused on the future of gaming in New York City, September 25-26, 2008. Please note that there has been a change of venue. This conference will be held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park and not at the Javits Center, because of the postponement of the Digital Life consumer show.

NY Games Conference is a dedicated insider forum for media and tech executives to network, do deals, and share ideas about the future of console, PC, online and mobile games. The two-day conference is modeled on Digital Media Wire's highly-acclaimed annual LA Games Conference and will bring together the leading video game publishers and developers, carriers, portals, technology companies, advertising execs, venture capitalists, lawyers and analysts to discuss the future of video games and social media. The conference will also feature elements from DMW's cutting edge series of Millennials conferences focused on digital entertainment trends and strategies and consumer marketing for the youth market.

Participating companies included Activision, EA, Sony Online Entertainment, Sony BMG, Nokia, Konami, Playfirst, Turbine, WildTangent, Atari, Virgin, Massive, Stardoll, Gaia, Nexon, WorldWinner, Glu, Live Gamer, Habbo, IBM, NPD Group, CEA, Gamelab, Etherplay, Vivox, Fuel Industries, Hands-on Mobile, gamerDNA, Brickfish, Championship Gaming Seies, Greystripe, King.com, Thumbplay, Large Animal Games, IGA, Cryptic Studios, CBS Mobile, Bloomberg, ABC News, PBS, Yahoo!, AP, Electric Playground, FastCompany, IGDA, Mattel and many more...

Press registered to cover the event included journalists and bloggers from the following organizations: ABC News, Gamasutra, Consumer Electronics Daily, MTV Multiplayer, GameDev.net, FastCompany.com, Yahoo! Tech, The Electric Playground, Gamersinfo.net, Rich & Famous Magazine, Gamer 2.0, The Associated Press, Hot 97, Quarterplay.com, Got Game, Second Life News, BetaNews, VentureBeat, The NY Post, US China Magazine, Concept Magazine, MediaWare Magazine, GayGamer, Library Journal, WBAI-FM, GameTopius.com, iGame2.com, AlienBabelTech.com, NY-Gamers.com, KPMG Digital Insider, GIGA Digital TV, Bloomberg, Joystiq, PS Fanboy and many more... 

For more information, including details about submitting speakers and sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, please contact Event Director, Jay Baage at jay@digitalmediawire.com.

Keynotes &
Featured Presentations

John Smedley President Sony Online Entertainment	Matt Mason Author The Pirate's Dilemma
Kyle "kSharp" Miller Professional Gamer The CGS Team 3D New York	Tony Haugan Managing Editor Stripes GAMER
Justin Ficarrotta Game Designer Freeverse

 

Speakers

Dave Andersen Senior Director, Bus. Dev. and Licensing Activision		Alex St. John CEO & Co-Founder WildTangent		Ranah Edelin VP, Business Development and Marketing Raptr		Jeff Freedman Director of Strategy and Business Development Millions of Us / Virtual Greats
Mark Cullinane SVP & GM GSN Advertising Network		Dan Porter SVP, Corporate Development Virgin USA		Matthew Bellows VP, Consumer Strategy Vivox		Erik Hauser Founder Experiential Marketing Forum
Michael Cai Director, Broadband & Gaming Parks Associates		Eric Goldberg Managing Director Crossover Technologies		Mark Fischer Principal Fish & Richardson		Joakim 'Jay' Baage VP, Content Digital Media Wire
Nick Smith Founder/Producer PWNorDIE.com		Dan Scherlis CEO Etherplay		Shawn DuBravac Chief Economist CEA		John Welch CEO Playfirst
Eric Zimmerman Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer Gamelab		Mike Vorhaus President Magid Advisors		Rob Uhrich Senior Director, Digital Markets PaymentOne		Ned Sherman CEO & Publisher Digital Media Wire
Michael Klotz Games Business Senior Manager The NPD Group		Matt Palmer EVP & GM Stardoll.com		Aaron Lassila Sr Dir of Branded Entertainment Double Fusion		Craig Sherman CEO Gaia Online
Jason Katz VP, Global Marketing Championship Gaming Series		Jeremy Monroe Director of Bus. Dev., Sports & Ent., N.A. Sulake		Jacquie Lane Vice President C&R Research		Manny Anekal Global Director, In-Game Advertising Operations Electronic Arts
Jon Radoff CEO gamerDNA		Kay Gruenwoldt Head, N.A. Marketing Team Nokia Games Publishing		Brian Dunn CEO Brickfish		Andrew Schneider President and Co-founder Live Gamer
Michael Kane Entertainment Features Writer NY Post		Justin Townsend CEO & Co-Founder IGA WorldWide		Michael Temkin CTO and EVP of Operations Hands-On Mobile		Justin Kubiak VP Marketing Glu Mobile
David Reitman VP, Content & Ent. Practice Switch and Data		Mike Hogan VP, Operations Play Hard Sports		Gary Catalano Operations Manager Cryptic Studios		Robert Norton Managing Director, N.A. King.com
Jonathan Strietzel Co-Founder & CCO Big Stage Entertainment		Robert Stevenson VP, Bus Dev & Worldwide Publishing Atari Group		Min Kim VP of Marketing Nexon America		Michael Worosz Head of Global Business Development Massive (Microsoft)
Michael Bordash VP, Business Solutions IPsoft		Billy Pidgeon, Research Manager-Games IDC Consumer Markets		Sean MacPhedran, Director, Creative Strategy, Fuel Industries		Andy Wong VP, Technology K2 Network, Inc.
Sean Kane Attorney, Consultant Drakeford & Kane LLC		Chris Phenner SVP Business Development Thumbplay		Michael Chang CEO & Co-Founder Greystripe		Wade Tinney CEO & Co-Founder Large Animal Games
Fernando Paiz Executive Producer Turbine

Agenda

September 25, 2008 - Day 1
11:00AM–12:30PM	Exhibitor Set-up
12:30PM–1:15PM	Registration & Networking
1:15PM–1:30PM	Welcome to the Conference Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital Media Wire
1:30PM–2:25PM	Top Gaming Trends - Analyst Presentations Three leading analysts kick-off the day’s discussions with an overview of the latest research that reflects and illustrates the current state of gaming and the directions in which the industry is heading, including: consumer behavior & attitudes; adoption & penetration rates of key technology channels & platforms; and business & economic performance numbers. PRESENTERS 1:30pm – 1:45pm Shawn DuBravac, Chief Economist, CEA 1:45pm – 2:00pm Michael Klotz, Games Bus. Senior Manager, The NPD Group 2:00pm – 2:15pm Jen Wu, Entertainment Analyst, ComScore M:Metrics Q&A Moderator (2:15pm - 2:25pm) Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital Media Wire
2:30PM–3:15PM PANEL 1	Debate Club:  Is the Console Entertainment Hub of the Future or Fighting to Stay Alive? Some argue that the console with its powerful operating system is destined to be the entertainment hub of the digital home, interfacing with the PC, TV, set-top box and mobile devices, while others argue that the console's death is imminent. Structured as a formal academic debate over the future of the console and what role it will play in the digital home, panelists are divided into two teams that are either pro or con console gaming. Each team will be given 10 minutes for initial arguments and 5 minutes for rebuttals. The audience will determine the winner via text messaging. Some of the topics the teams will discuss include the role of the console, the PC, set-top boxes and mobile devices. Who will be the winners and losers in a fully connected world? This is one session that you don’t want to miss. Sparks are sure to fly! Con-Console Position Alex St. John, CEO & Founder, Wild Tangent John Welch, CEO & Co-Founder, Playfirst Pro-Console Position Justin Townsend, CEO & Co-Founder, IGA WorldWide Robert Stevenson, VP, Bus Dev & WW Publishing, Atari Group Moderator Mike Vorhaus, President, Magid Advisors
3:15PM–3:45PM	Refreshment & Networking Break
3:45PM–4:30PM PANEL 2	Get a (Virtual) Life! The Challenges and Opportunities For Monetizing Virtual Worlds and MMOGs The lines between social networks, virtual worlds and games are blurring - so how do you monetize these new social gaming environments? This panel will discuss the relative effectiveness of premium subscriptions, sales of music, video and virtual goods and ad supported content. What is working and what isn’t? How are brand marketers and their agencies navigating this new space? How do advertisers measure ROI and the effectiveness of these new and relatively untested campaigns? How do you handle license and rights issues as well payments effectively? This group of panelists will share their experiences with different business models as well as give advice for how to make smart marketing investments in this ever-changing landscape. Panelists Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online Matt Palmer, EVP & GM, Stardoll Andrew Schneider, President & Co-founder, Live Gamer Rob Uhrich, Senior Director, Digital Markets, PaymentOne Sean Kane, Attorney & Consultant, Drakeford & Kane LLC Jeff Freedman, Dir of Strategy and Bus Dev, Millions of Us / Virtual Greats Moderator Eric Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossover Technologies
4:30PM–5:15PM PANEL 3	Reality Check! Q&A with Panel of Teen Gamers Talking to Teens: A conversation related to specific attitudes and habits of teen gamers. Hear directly from the mouths of some of your biggest and most loyal consumers...Teens. Meet teens from C&R's TeensEyes panel, and listen to them tell it like it is. In order to successfully engage this demographic, we must attempt to see things through their eyes. Topics covered in the live discussion will include: Elements of Teen Appeal: A day in the life of today's teens and their activities. Insight into what gaming is to them, what they like, what they don't like, what they want more of, and what they can stand to live without. Understand the key to creating appropriately targeted games, brand partnerships and marketing campaigns that appeal to this audience. Marketing To The Demographic: A mix of perspectives on a variety of aspects of young adult perceptions about various consumer categories and behaviors. Sponsored by: Moderator Jacquie Lane, VP, C&R Research
5:15PM–5:45PM	Keynote iPhone Games: Bum-Rushing New Platforms For Fun and Profit Justin Ficarrotta, Game Designer and Programmer, Freeverse
5:45PM–7:00PM	Cocktail Reception
September 26, 2008 - DAY 2
8:30AM–9:00AM	Registration, Breakfast & Networking
9:00AM–9:15AM	Opening Remarks
9:15AM–9:45AM	Keynote John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment
9:45AM–10:30AM PANEL 1	Games of Tomorrow and the Future of MMOGs The success of the massively multiplayer online games genre is undeniable. This panel of gaming heavyweights will share their views and predictions on MMOGs and the games of tomorrow. What can we expect for the games of the future? What platform is best suited for this form of social gaming? Which aspects of gaming will remain constant? Is the evolution of gaming in countries such as Korea and China a sign of things come? Panelists Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer, Turbine Jon Radoff, CEO, gamerDNA John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment Matthew Bellows, VP, Consumer Strategy, Vivox Jonathan Strietzel, Co-founder/CCO, Big Stage Entertainment Min Kim, VP, Marketing, Nexon America Moderator Michael Cai, Director, Broadband/Gaming, Parks Associates
10:30AM–11:00AM	Refreshment & Networking Break Sponsored by:
11:00AM–11:45AM PANEL 2	How to Win The Social Game - Harnessing the Power of Online Communities & Social Networks If the key to reaching the youth generation of today is to go to where they are, then online communities and social networks are sure to become central to marketing strategies, brand-building and media and entertainment experiences in the 21st century. What are the opportunities for social networks to intersect with the next generation of games and interactive entertainment? How can games and interactive entertainment incorporate features such as user-generated content, sharing, rewards and referral programs? How are social networks incorporating game play? How do you monetize these new social gaming environments? What's happening with virtual worlds? This panel of executives from social networks, technology and games companies will tackle these questions and more. Panelists Brian Dunn, CEO, Brickfish Ranah Edelin, VP, Bus. Dev. & Marketing, Raptr Dan Porter, SVP, Corporate Development, Virgin USA Nick Smith, Founder & Producer, PWNorDie.com Wade Tinney, CEO & Co-Founder, Large Animal Games Moderator Mark Fischer, Principal, Fish & Richardson
11:45AM–12:30AM PANEL 3	Games as a Marketing Tool - Connecting Brands with the Favorite Medium of the Millennial Generation This panel of advertising, brand and games executives will discuss opportunities for advertisers and brands to reach consumers through the games, virtual worlds and social networks. How are brand marketers and their agencies navigating this space? What advertising campaigns work in games and online communities? How are consumers reacting to ads in games? How are advertising executives working with game developers? What are the opportunities and challenges in incorporating advertising and brands into games and online communities? On the other side of the coin, how can game companies generate revenue and free mass advertising by incorporating digital game content into brand advertising? Panelists Dave Anderson, Senior Dir., Bus. Dev. & Licensing, Activision Manny Anekal, Global Dir, In-Game Ad Ops, Electronic Arts Jeremy Monroe, Director, Bus. Dev., Sports & Ent, N.A., Sulake Aaron Lassila, Sr Dir of Branded Ent., Double Fusion Jason Katz, VP, Global Mkting, Championship Gaming Series Michael Worosz, Head, Global Bus Dev, Massive (Microsoft) Moderator Erik Hauser, Founder, Experiential Marketing Forum
12:30PM–1:30PM	Lunch
1:30PM–2:15PM PANEL 4	Mass Market Gaming - What's Next For The Casual Games Industry? Casual games are growing in popularity due in part to their availability on multiple platforms - mobile, Internet, handhelds, PCs and consoles - and new market entrants who are making a big push in the space. This panel will discuss the opportunity in casual gaming with a focus on innovation, pricing and distribution models. What has changed in the last year? What changes can we expect in the coming year? What innovations will fuel growth? How are new consumers being targeted? What business models are working? Who are the new market entrants? What is the outlook for product placement, in-game advertising, and advergaming? What is the future for online casual games? Panelists Mark Cullinane, SVP and GM, GSN Ad Network/WorldWinner Robert Norton, Managing Director, North America, King.com John Welch, Co-Founder & CEO, Playfirst Eric Zimmerman, Co-Founder/Chief Design Officer, Gamelab Moderator Billy Pidgeon, Research Mgr-Games, IDC Consumer Mkts
2:20PM–2:35PM	Gamers in the Military Special presentation by: Tony Haugan, Managing Editor, Stripes GAMER Stripes GAMER is published by Stars and Stripes, the independent newspaper for the U.S. military community worldwide
2:40PM–2:55PM	Life as a Pro Gamer Kyle "kSharp" Miller, Professional Gamer, The CGS, Team 3D New York Interviewed by: Michael Kane, Entertainment Features Writer, NY Post
3:00PM–3:20PM	Piracy and Games - How Game Companies Can Compete with Pirates Special presentation by: Matt Mason, Author, The Pirate's Dilemma
3:20PM–3:45PM	Refreshment & Networking Break
3:45PM–4:30PM PANEL 5	Making Games Work - The Importance of Online Game Infrastructure Deployment As more and more games go online, it is of critical importance to make sure that games actually work. Today's gaming companies are challenged with a tremendous complexity in terms of development and deployment of MMOGs and game infrastructures. This is a process which involves hardware platform vendors, data centers, ongoing support services, as well as city, state, and federal governments. All of these elements supporting an online game have the potential to break in a way that can take the game, or part of the game, offline. Some of these elements are under the control of the developer, some are under the control or influence of the hosting provider, and some are outside of anyone's control. This panel will give you an insider look under the hood of the growing online game industry. You will walk away with a better understanding of the stakes involved and the challenges and opportunities facing the games industry. Panelists Mike Hogan, VP of Operations, PlayHard Sports Gary Catalano, Operations Manager, Cryptic Studios Michael Bordash, VP, Business Solutions, IPsoft Andy Wong, VP of Technology, K2 Network, Inc. Moderator David Reitman, VP, Content & Ent. Practice, Switch and Data
4:35PM–5:20PM PANEL 6	Games on the Go - Challenges & Opportunities In Creating and Distributing Mobile Games By some estimates, mobile games is a $3.3 billion industry and forecasted to increase to $10 billion by 2009, yet there are challenges that need to be collectively overcome for the industry to progress to a mass market phenomenon. This panel of decision-makers in the mobile games value chain will discuss the state of the industry with a focus on innovation, pricing, new devices, marketing and distribution models for mobile games. What has changed in the last year? What changes can we expect in the coming year? What factors are driving and hindering the industry? How is the mobile games market working with successful online games and brands to grow the mobile games market? Is a licensed game or branded title needed to succeed in the current mobile games market? When can we expect to see a more reasonable ecosystem for developers and publishers to bring games to market? Panelists Kay Gruenwoldt, Head, N.A. Mktg, Nokia Games Publishing Justin Kubiak, VP Marketing, Glu Mobile Sean MacPhedran, Director, Creative Strategy, Fuel Industries Michael Temkin, CTO and EVP of Ops, Hands-On Mobile Chris Phenner, SVP, Business Development, Thumbplay Michael Chang, CEO & Co-Founder, Greystripe Moderator Dan Scherlis, CEO, Etherplay