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LA Games Conference

DMW Vlog: PlaySpan's Tony Colafrancesco on Trading Virtual Goods

Authored by Jay Baage on June 24, 2008 - 7:21am.

The market for virtual goods and currency in games such as World of Warcraft is booming and some analysts estimate that it's worth approximately $1.5 billion. I caught up with PlaySpan's Tony Colafrancesco in between panels at our recent LA Games Conference and asked him some questions about the current problems users run into when trying to trade virtual goods or currency, including gold miners and virtual gangsters, and how Playspan is working to bring some order to the chaos. Playspan claims to be the first publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network for microtransactions with a combined user base of over 10 million gamers.
tags: Games | Virtual Currency | MMORG | World of Warcraft | Virtual Worlds | LA Games Conference | PlaySpan | Tony Colafrancesco |

CEA and DMW Announce Partnership for LA Games Conference

Authored by Ned Sherman on May 25, 2008 - 2:06pm.

In case you missed it, here is the press release from last week announcing our new partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association for LA Games Conference. This gives us a significant step up as we increase our profile and position as one of the leading publishers and event producers covering the $17.9 billion game industry (2007 sales figures, according to NPD Group). For more information about our annual LA Games Conference, please visit www.lagamesconference.com.

tags: CEA | Digital Media Wire | DMW | Investment | Finance | LA Games Conference |

DMW Vlog: Emmi Kuusikko on Habbo and Advertising in Virtual Worlds

Authored by Jay Baage on May 23, 2008 - 2:02pm.

From LA Games Conference - DMW's Jay Baage interviews Emmi Kuusikko, Director, User & Market Insight for Sulake, the Finland-based company behind the popular virtual world Habbo Hotel. She came all the way from Helsinki to the conference to present The 2008 Global Habbo Youth Survey, a rare look under the hood of one of the world's largest youth communities online. In this interview, Emmi Kuusikko talks about Habbo users spending habits, how to measure ROI on advertising campaigns in virtual worlds and the importance of having real as well as virtual friends.
tags: Video | Marketing | Advertising | Sulake | Habbo Hotel | Virtual Worlds | LA Games Conference | Emmi Kuusikko |

Media Executives Network and Do Deals at the LA Games Conference

Authored by Jay Baage on May 21, 2008 - 1:34pm.
Los Angeles – What constitutes a game these days? Are Facebook and LinkedIn ultimately games? Isn’t a professional gamer an oxymoron? There were many interesting questions that the around 300 attendees bombarded the panelists and speakers with during the first day of the LA Games Conference. The focus of this year’s event is “The Future of Connected Entertainment” and the fast growth and changing landscape of the games industry is certainly exciting for everyone involved. Make sure to check back for pictures, podcasts and video interviews from the event as soon as we have time to put it up.
tags: Games | Video | Marketing | Events | LA Games Conference |

Is The Game Industry Killing Hollywood? Or Is It The Other Way Around?

Authored by Jay Baage on May 16, 2008 - 9:11am.

Today's topic of the popular financial web TV show WallStrip is the troubled relationship between the game industry and Hollywood. For example, the launch of the much anticipated video game "Grand Theft Auto IV" was expected to kill the opening weekend at the box office for the "Iron Man" movie. But it didn't. In fact, both Iron Man and Grand Theft Auto IV made a fortune for Marvel Studios (NYSE: MVL) and Take-Two Interactive (NSDQ: TTWO) respectively. But there are other reasons behind the friction between the two entertainment industries than just launch dates. It concerns licence fees, IP-ownership and who really has the leverage. For those of you who are interested in this topic, don't miss the "Hollywood and Games" panel at our LA Games Conference next week on May 22 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Sparks will fly!
tags: Games | TV | Metrics | Microsoft | Movies | Take-Two Interactive | Halo | LA Games Conference | GTA IV |

Are You Mobile Yet?

Authored by Keenan Reilly on March 19, 2008 - 4:05am.

The following post was submitted to DMW by Keenan Reilly, a 23-year old game developer at Electronic Arts.

As a 23-year-old video game developer at EA, I often find myself taking technology for granted. I’m like a parent watching a child grow. It is at such a constant rate of change that it isn’t really noticeable from day to day. If I’m the parent, then the consumer is comparable to a distant relative who only sees the child during the holidays, which creates an inevitable shock factor when finally seeing the child after some time. With Apple opening up the iPhone to third party game developers, the public is now getting a glimpse at what I have been observing for quite some time; mobile phones are the future of gaming.

tags: Games | Mobile | Casual Games | EA | GPS | Millennials | LA Games Conference |

Mobile Games Leaders Converge to Discuss Industry's Future

Authored by Ned Sherman on July 11, 2007 - 3:12pm.
Yesterday, we hosted our first annual Mobile Games Insider, a half-day invite-only event for 150 top games and mobile executives.  The event was held at a private beach club in Santa Monica, CA, just down the street from the new E3. The sole focus was on the mobile games industry, which despite $3.3 billion in revenue was not given any dedicated time or space at E3 this year. We felt that this event was needed and warranted by the simple fact that the mobile games industry is an industry here to stay. Moreover, when you combine 3 billion handsets worldwide with the increasing desire for entertainment anywhere, anytime, it isn't hard to see that this industry could really take off. As Lucy Hood, CEO of Jamba, simply put it in her keynote, "the mobile gamer is anyone." 
tags: Games | Mobile | Games & Mobile Forum | LA Games Conference | Mobile Games Insider |

Welcome from the Event Co-Chair!

Authored by Ned Sherman on May 16, 2007 - 3:19pm.
Welcome Everyone!  Please feel free to use this forum to make posts and contact others who will be attending the event.  We look forward to seeing you soon.
tags: Games & Mobile Forum | LA Games Conference |