Press Release

AUSTIN GAME CONFERENCE EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS FRIDAY, JULY 21ST

Austin, Texas, July 17, 2006 - Early registration for the Austin Game Conference closes this Friday, leaving just five more days for registrants to save $200 off of the onsite price of $495. Register prior to Friday and the price is only $295 for all three day's of the conference. Plus attendees also gain access to the Technology Pavilion, Career Pavilion and the Casual Games Conference, Game Writers Conference and the Game Audio Conference - all running concurrently. After Friday the price rises to $395. The Austin Game Conference will educate and entertain attendees for the fourth straight year thanks to the hard work of The Game Initiative, the leading producer of conferences for professionals in the computer and video game industry. Conference details and registration can be found at http://www.GameConference.com/

The three-day conference will bring together 2,500 attendees from more than 20 countries to participate in concentrated discourse with their peers, network with colleagues, learn from industry leaders, conduct business, and see the latest tools, technologies and techniques - all in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The full roster includes 120 speakers participating in five detailed conference tracks: Games in Asia; Multiplayer Business/Production; Multiplayer Design; Multiplayer Tech/Art; Multiplayer Service and Support; Future of the Development Pipeline and Next Generation Game Development.

This 2006 AGC keynotes include:

* Rob Pardo - Blizzard's VP of Game Design and lead designer for World of Warcraft
* Michael Dell - Chairman of Dell, Inc. (who will participate in a special Q&A session with attendees in the Tech Pavilion)
* Vernor Vinge - Hugo Award Winning Science-Fiction Author
* Surprise Guest Keynote - to be announced on www.GameConference.com shortly

Registration to the AGC grants full access to the following:

* Technology Pavilion - See the latest tools, technologies, products and services. Free beer from 2pm to 5:30 on Thursday in the Attendee Lounge in the Tech Pav.

* Recruiting Pavilion - Converse with companies including Activision, BioWare, Midway, THQ, Microsoft/Xbox, Vivendi, and more.

* Casual Games Conference - Learn more about the design considerations and business principles required for developers to succeed in this rapidly-expanding game industry segment. Sponsored by Microsoft Casual Games.

* Game Audio Conference (new this year) - Gain insight from advanced game audio sessions designed to educate industry professionals, spark discussion, and propose solutions to some of game audio's most daunting challenges.

* Game Writers Conference - Delve into the art and craft of game writing with fellow writers, developers and publishers.

* Game Developer LivePitch 1-on-1 - Watch as LivePitch puts indie game developers and their unsigned projects in front of the world's leading game publishers. The application process is now open. Go to http://www.LivePitch.com for details.

* Machinima Theater - Explore the convergence of filmmaking, animation and game development. In partnership with the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences and sponsored by BioWare.

Sponsors include:

+7 Systems, Activision, Ageia Technologies, Animation Farm, Aria Systems, Association of Shareware Professionals, Audiokinetic, Autodesk, Bigfoot Networks, BigWorld, BioWare Corp, Cryptic Studios, DigiPen Institute of Technology, Dolby Laboratories, Electronic Arts, Emergent Game Technologies, Enzyme Testing Labs, Game Instinct, GoPets, High Voltage Software, iBeta Quality Assurance, Keywords International Ltd, Microsoft Casual Games, Microsoft Game Studios- XBOX, Midway Studios Austin Inc, Omni Interactive Audio, Online Game Services Inc., Power Up Gaming, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Scaleform Corporation, Softimage, SwiftCD, The Guildhall at SMU, THQ, University of Advancing Technology, Vivendi Games.

Speakers for the three day program include:

Alan Crosby, Director, Global Community Relations, Sony Online Entertainment; Alexander Macris, President & CEO, Themis Group, Inc.; Andrew Mayer, Senior Designer / Producer, PlayFirst, Inc. ; Andrew Pedersen, Vice President, Executive Producer for Pogo, Electronic Arts; April Burba, Community Manager, NCsoft; Betsy Book, Director of Product Management, Makena Technologies, Inc.; Bill Bishop, CEO, Red Mushroom; Bill Clifford, General Manager of Advertising Platforms, WildTangent, Inc; Bill Dalton, Principal Software Engineer, BioWare Austin; Bill Money, Creative Director, Iron Will Games; Brian Green, Near Death Studios, Inc.; Bruce Woodcock, MMOG Analyst, MMOGCHART.COM; Carly Staehlin, Artist, Carly Staehlin Design; Charles Dane, Community Manager, CCP Games; Chris Early, Studio Manager, Microsoft Casual Games Group; Chris Kramer, Senior Dir., Corp. Comm., Sony Online Entertainment; Chris Mancil, Senior Online Community Relations Manager, WEBZEN America, Inc.; Chris Melissinos, Chief Gaming Officer, Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Christopher Natsuume, Creative Director, Boomzap Pte. Ltd.; Cindy Armstrong, CEO, WEBZEN America, Inc.; Craig Dalrymple, Editor in Chief, OGX.com & Grimwell Online; D. Scott Mattson, Senior Game Consultant, Game Center Group; Daishiro Okada, President & COO, Square-Enix; Damion Schubert, Lead Combat Designer, BioWare Austin; Dan Ferguson, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Blockdot/Kewlbox.com; Daniel Connors, CEO, Telltale; Daniel James, CEO, Three Rings; Daniel Terdiman, staff writer, CNET News.com; David Reese, CTO, Iron Will Games; Dave Rohrl, GM - SF Studio, PopCap Games; Dave Williams, Atom Shockwave; David Swofford, Communications Director, North America NCsoft; Dean Terry, Professor of Emerging Media & Online Worlds, The University of Texas at Dallas; Doug Mellencamp, Server Lead, Bioware; Elina M.I. Koivisto, Research Engineer, Nokia; EM Stock, Senior Community Manager, Sony Online Entertainment; Erik Bethke, CEO, GoPets Ltd; Eugene Evans, VP Marketing, Mythic Entertainment; Greg Mills, Director of Premium Games, AOL Games; Heidi Perry, VP of Marketing, PlayFirst; Howard Marks, CEO, Acclaim Games; James Hursthouse, CEO, Online Game Services Inc.; Jason Ryan, Online Events Manager, Sony Online Entertainment; Jason Wonacott, Director of Corporate Communications, WEBZEN America, Inc.; Jay Lee, Vice President of Technology, Trion World Network; Jay Moore, Garage Games; Jessica Mulligan, Executive Consultant, Online Games; Joe Ludwig, Lead Software Engineer, Flying Lab Software; John Blakely, Vice President of Development, Sony Online Entertainment; John Smedley, President, Sony Online; John Song, NCSoft; Jon Grande, VP - Biz & Legal, Sigil Games Online; JØrgen Tharaldsen, Product Director, Funcom; Joshua Howard, Microsoft; Julie Pitt, GM, Planning and Distribution, Games, RealNetworks; Ken Wells, Vice President of Marketing, Big Fish; Kevin Richardson, Producer/Designer, iWin, Inc.; Lee Sheldon, Indiana University; Lisa Cosmas Hanson, Nika; Lisa Sikora, Marketing Lead, Microsoft Casual Games; Mike Burns, Chief Creative Officer, Fuel Industries; Montgomery Singman, Founder and CEO, Radiance Digital Entertainment, Ltd.; Nicole Lazzaro, President, XEODesign, Inc.; Patricia Pizer, Game Designer, Freelance; Patrick Wylie, VP Studios, Big Fish Games, Inc.; Paul Kim, Vice President, Business Affairs, Go Pets, Ltd.; Paul Tauger, Partner and Head - Computer Game Practice Group, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP; Raph Koster; Rhonda Giedt, Atom Entertainment; Richard Vogel, Co-Studio Director, BioWare Austin; Richard Weil, Community Relations Manager, Ncsoft; Ruben Cortez, Chief Network Architect, Electronic Arts Inc.; Sam Lewis, Lead Game Designer, Cartoon Network; Samantha LeCraft, Game Designer, Online Alchemy; Sandra Powers, Producer, Sony Online Entertainment; Sanya Weathers, Director of Community Relations, Mythic Entertainment; Sara Jensen, Lead Designer, Wolfpack, A Ubisoft Company; Scott Yun, Red Rocket Games; Sean "Ashen Temper" Dahlberg, Designer, Community Manager, Stray Bullet Games; Sean Kauppinen, Vice President, Kohnke Communications; Sean Ryan, CEO, Meez.com; Shawn McMichael, Director of Sales and Marketing, Microsoft Casual Games; Sibel Sunar, Vice President, The Bohle Company; Steve Parkis, Disney Online; Steven Hoffman, North American Studio Head, Infospace, Inc.; Susan Choe, CEO, StrayFish.com; Tim Greenhalgh, Chief Executive, Galaxylife Limited; Tommy Palm, Head of R&D, Jadestone Group AB; Troy Hewitt, Community Envoy, Flying Lab Software

About The Game Initiative

The Austin Game Conference is produced by The Game Initiative, a leading producer of conferences and events for game industry professionals. Game Initiative, events attracted almost 4,000 game industry professionals from around the world as speakers, attendees, sponsors and exhibitors in 2005. The Game Initiative serves the needs of companies and people involved in producing interactive entertainment software and hardware for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. Game Initiative events include the Austin Game Conference, the Mobile Game Conference, the Women's Game Conference, the Game Writers Conference, the Advertising In Games Forum, the Casual Games Conference, Game Technology Association Meetings and the How to Break into the Game Industry national conference series. More information about The Game Initiative can be found at http://www.GameConferences.com

Contact:

Tim Williams
Austin Game Conference
512.289.8687