Press Release

AUSTIN GAME CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES 100 EXHIBITORS AND SPONSORS

AUSTIN, Texas, August 10, 2006 - The Game Initiative, the leading producer of conferences for professionals in the computer and video game industry, today announced that one hundred companies from across the industry are sponsoring and exhibiting at the Austin Game Conference unfolding September 6-7-8, 2006 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

Gold sponsors for the conference include Microsoft Casual Games, Dolby Laboratories, BioWare Corp, Sony Online Entertainment, Online Game Services, Inc., Critical Mass Interactive, and K2 Network. The Technology Pavilion, the meet-and-greet center of the conference, will host more than 65 exhibitors. Full conference details are available at http://www.GameConference.com

"The game world is changing. Online is critical to future success of the industry," said Christopher Sherman, Austin Game Conference Executive Director. "As we witnessed with last week's E3 announcement, game developers and business professionals cannot afford to be left behind as the industry shifts direction. Game industry growth in 2007 will come from online enabled products and the Austin Game Conference ensures that game professionals leave more knowledgeable, more connected, and more excited about the evolution of 'Brave New Worlds' in the industry than ever before."

2006 Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors include

Online Game Services Inc.; Microsoft Casual Games; SCEA; BioWare; K2 Network; Dolby Laboratories; Emergent Game Technologies; Ageia Technologies; Autodesk; Vivendi Games; Audiokinetic; Softimage; WildTangent; Simutronics- Hero Engine; Multiverse; Dell Precision Workstation; Intel; Themis Group; Alchemic Dream; BigWorld; Enzyme Testing Labs; Activision; Absolute Quality, University of Advancing Technology; High Voltage Software; Animation Farm; Game Instinct; Scaleform Corporation; The Guildhall at SMU; Vivox; Business Wire; DigiPen Institute of Technology; GamesIndustry.biz; GameDev.net; GoPets; AustinXL; Develop Magazine; Bigfoot Networks; Game Creation Magazine; +7 Systems; MobyGames; Sony Online Entertainment; Microsoft Game Studios- XBOX; iBeta Quality Assurance; Creative Labs; Keywords International Ltd; Cryptic Studios; SwiftCD; Adobe System; Eyeblaster; Midway Studios Austin Inc; Electronic Arts; Power Up Gaming; Axis CD; Perpetual Entertainment; Cheyenne Mountain; Game Driven ; Exclaim Recruiting Agency; THQ; Next Generation; Parks Associates; GameRecruiter; GameJobs.com; IGDA Game Writers SIG; Techxans; Anark; TechExcel; Aria Systems; Association of Shareware Professionals; Austin Community College; FX Interactive; Intermap Network Services; Omni Interactive Audio; St. Edward's University; Vircion Inc.; Critical Mass Interactive; Atlantix Global System, Blizzard Entertainment Inc., Chakrasound, Comedy Central, MTV Networks, Dallas Audio Post Group, eGames, Gaia X Co Ltd, HBMG Foundation; Merscom; Monumental; SCEA-Recruiting; Texas Film Commission

Speaker Line Up

In addition to headliners Rob Pardo (Vice President of Game Design, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc), Michael Dell (Chairman of the Board, Dell Inc.), Jon Landau (Producer; COO, Lightstorm Entertainment), and Vernor Vinge (Hugo Award Winning Science-Fiction author), attendees can expect to hear from:

Nicole Lazzaro, President, XEODesign, Inc.
Patricia Pizer, Game Designer, Freelance
Damion Schubert, Lead Combat Designer, BioWare Austin
Alex St. John, CEO & Co-Founder, WildTangent
Andrew Pedersen, Vice President, Executive Producer for Pogo, Electronic Arts
Betsy Book, Director of Product Management, Makena Technologies, Inc.
Bruce Woodcock, MMOG Analyst, MMOGCHART.COM
Cindy Armstrong, CEO, WEBZEN America, Inc
Daishiro Okada, President & COO, Square-Enix
Daniel James, Founder & CEO, Three Rings
Dave Rohrl, GM - SF Studio, PopCap Games
Erik Bethke, CEO, GoPets Ltd
Howard Marks, CEO, Acclaim Games
John Smedley, President, Sony Online
John Song, Aquisition Manager, NCsoft
Jon Grande, VP - Biz & Legal, Sigil Games Online
Joshua Hong, CEO, K2 Network
Mark Jacobs, EA Mythic
Raph Koster
Ruben Cortez, Chief Network Architect, Electronic Arts Inc
Sam Lewis, Lead Game Designer, Cartoon Network
Susan Choe, CEO, StrayFish.com
Warren Spector, President, Junction Point Studios
Mike Goslin, Vice President, Virtual Reality Studio, Walt Disney Internet Group
Daniel Connors, CEO, Telltale Games
Jonathan Hanna, Director of Community Relations, Turbine, Inc.
Montgomery Singman, Founder and CEO, Radiance Digital Entertainment, Ltd.
Sara Jensen, Lead Designer, Wolfpack
Al Lowe, Game Designer, Director, iBase Entertainment, Inc.
Harvey Smith, Studio Creative Director, Midway Austin
Mark Terrano, Hidden Path Entertainment
Tom Abernathy, Writer/Designer, Pandemic Studios
And over 100 other speakers...

Conference sessions will delve head-on into issues affecting the game industry including

What the Market Research Tells Us - Where MMOGs are Going
"New" Challenges Facing MMOG Development
Beyond the Billboard: Branding and Identity in Virtual Worlds
Financing Choices for Start Up Game Companies
The Four Most Important Emotions for Games: What WOW Does Right
MMOG Rant
Techniques of Procedural Content Generation
Intentionally Leveraging the Strengths of Your Player Base
Burning Man Festival: New Directions for Online Experience and Entertainment
Moving Beyond Men In Tights
Live Support Challenges in the Asian Market
Events and Live Programming For Large Scale Online Worlds
Middleware and Tool Kits vs. Home Grown - a Debate
Challenges and Opportunities; Looming Disasters of Next Generation Titles
Casual Game Designers Speak Out
Creating Sam & Max Season 1: An Episodic Case Study
Digital Distribution Revolution
Virtual Currency
Where is Asia Going?
Writing Comedy for Games
Creating Characters For Games
Large Scale Dialog Management
Sound Source Acquisition and Library Maintenance

Full session details can be found at http://www.GameConference.com

Running concurrently with the Austin Game Conference, the Game Audio Conference, Game Writers Conference, and Casual Games Conference will each offer insight into their respective fields.

About The Game Initiative

The Austin Game Conference is produced by The Game Initiative, the 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 Game Marketing Conference, the Casual Games Conference, the Game Audio Conference, the Game Writers Conference, the Advertising In Games Forum, , 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.GameConference.com

Contact:
Kristin Ward
Austin Game Conference