Mobile Game Conference details
by Kit

Monday, August 2 2004

Conference to take place in Austin.

The Game Initiative announced today the Mobile Game Conference, taking place September 9-10, 2004 in Austin, Texas. Attendees will hear from professionals at carriers, publishers, device manufacturers, platform operators, middleware providers and developers discussing detailed developer focused technology and business issues that are not covered at any other event in North America. The Mobile Game Conference operates under the auspices of Austin Game Conference, the leading event for multiplayer online game development.

"The US and European markets are both on track to make the leap from less than $100 million in 2003 revenues to approximately $250 million in 2004," said Eric Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossover Technologies and Advisor to Digital Chocolate, (M)forma, Unplugged, Vindigo, and Warner Music Group and a member of the Mobile Game Conference advisory board.

Companies presenting at the conference cover the full spectrum of the mobile game development and will share knowledge about the most critical elements that make great mobile games possible. Presenters include Sprint, Nokia, Cingular Wireless, Qualcomm, Centerscore, Blue Heat, Sennari, Iomo, In-Fusio, Com2uS, Vindigo, Amplified Games, M7 Networks, Kayak Interactive, Blue Ridge Games, iomo, Reaxion, Ideaworks3D, Sony Computer Entertainment and more.

"My colleagues on the Mobile Game Conference advisory board have assembled a faculty of experts to guide developers and, with them, the entire Western mobile value chain toward the multi-billion dollar annual run rate enjoyed by the Asian markets." said Goldberg.

"The Mobile Game Conference carries forward The Game Initiative's mission to provide superior information to game industry professionals, information that can be immediately applied to building better games and better game companies," said Christopher V. Sherman, Executive Director of the Austin Game Conference.

The full program is available at http://www.MobileGameConference.com . Program and speaker highlights are below. The Mobile Game Conference is sponsored by Nokia.

Mobile Game Conference Sessions Include:

The State of the Game: Mobile Games Landscape 2004
Major Mobile Game Platforms: State of Technology
What it's like to design and develop on mobile
The Single Most Important Thing You Need Know to Succeed in Mobile
International Markets
Choosing Your Battles
The Mobile Value Chain
Implementing Graphics and Sound
Implementing Multiplayer
Programming the PlayStation Portable (PSP)

Confirmed Speakers Include:

Kevin Bradshaw, Kayak Interactive
Matthew Bellows, CNET Networks Inc.
Glenn Broadway, Iomo
Mike Cartabiano, Sennari
David Coombes, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Julian Corbett, In-Fusio
Greg Costikyan, Nokia
Jason Devitt, Vindigo
Allen Eichler, Blue Ridge Games
William Erickson, M7 Networks
Lou Fasulo, Cingular Wireless
Jason A Ford, Sprint
Kevin Glinner, Knockabout Games
Eric Goldberg, Crossover Technologies
Thor Gunnarsson, Ideaworks3D
Tom Hubina, Amplified Games
Gin Hyeon, Com2uS
Misha Lyalin, Reaxion
Oliver Miao, Centerscore
Marcus Matthews, Blue Heat
John Newcomer, in-fusio
Peter Young, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Mike Yuen, Qualcomm

Early Registration for the two-day event is open and can be accessed by logging on to http://www.gameconference.com/register . Early registration for professionals prior to August 15 is $125. After August 15th the price is $145 for professionals. Onsite registration price is $175 for professionals. Early registration for students prior to August 15 is $85. After August 15th the price is $110 for students. Onsite registration price is $135 for students. One day passes are also available. Conference Registration gains access to the MGC, the Austin Game Developers Conference, and the Women's Game Conference.

"We're reasonably certain that a mobile game professional who misses this conference shall not perish from this earth," Goldberg concluded, "but they will miss a hell of a great time in Austin, and will be competing against fellow professionals armed with the most current information on best practices supplied by top people in the business."

--- Kit