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Austin Game Conference a mild success
by Jolex Del Pilar
Friday, September 26, 2003
Nearly a thousand attend newly formed industry conference.
The Austin Game Initiative announced today that official attendance at the first annual Austin Game Conference has surpassed 850 from around the world. "The game industry has a new place to meet and do business," said Christopher Sherman, Executive Director of the Austin Game Conference. "We were always confident the strength of the Conference Program, focused on massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) and Mobile game development, would establish a sound educational foundation, but it is clear that senior executives have come here to do business as well." Presentations from speakers at the conference can be found at http://www.GameConference.com . The 2004 Austin Game Conference will take place in Austin September 21-22, 2004.
Drawing from an international audience with attendees from as far away as China, Korea, France, UK, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia, the Austin Game Conference has attracted a diverse mix of companies participating in the high growth game market. In addition to game developers and publishers, the conference drew from individuals from the recording industry, television, venture capital and other industries.
The Conference's LivePitch component attracted 10 top game publishers looking to view game demos from developers. LivePitch offers an extremely efficient way for developers to present their ideas. Over 50 developers applied to present to the high caliber publisher audience and over 20% were accepted for one-on-one meetings. "I look forward to the event and my LivePitch," said Eric Kinkead Owner/Studio Director, Game Titan, LLC. "It saves me a bundle as it reduces the number flights to meet publishers directly this year," he added.
"We are already planning the 2004 Austin Game Conference and expect to add to the Program and Technology Pavilion," said Conference Director Steve Farrer. "Our Advisory Board have been magnificent and we are looking forward to working with them to make the event even more attractive."
Conference attendees heard from industry veterans and luminaries in a program offering 77 speakers in 45 sessions and 6 tracks. The event also featured a Technology Pavilion showcasing the latest tools, technologies, products and services, plus LivePitch, an exclusive opportunity for independent developers to demo their games to leading publishers and a Machinima Theater showing examples of the convergence of filmmaking, animation and game development.
--- Jolex Del Pilar |
