Coming in October: GamesBeat 2013 — ‘The Battle Royal in Gaming’

We’re pleased to announce that GamesBeat 2013 will be a standalone conference to be held on Oct. 29-30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve held GamesBeat alongside our MobileBeat conference. But our GamesBeat event has grown so much that the 2013 edition will be on its own and 100 percent dedicated to gaming. We believe our theme and our speakers will be compelling enough to create two of the most anticipated days in the business.

Last year, our theme was “The Crossover Era,” referring to companies attempting to crossover from one market to another, such as from the web to Facebook, from social to mobile, or from retail console to digital. Transitions like these create opportunity. They initiate a new cycle.

Our theme this year will be “The Battle Royal,” covering the coming conflict between the many different platforms that will soon be available. Like in a giant wrestling brawl, the major players want developers to fight on their behalf as they maneuver to elevate gaming and use it to become the premier entertainment gateway for consumers.

In this fight, companies will find that their allies are also their competitors. They will build an ecosystem consisting of development tools, first-party and third-party developers, new business models, payment systems, marketing and monetization schemes, and major hardware devices. The walls between different industries will collapse, bringing everyone into battle with everyone else.

We’ve entered an era where different companies are competing for gamers’ time in the same space. Apple, Amazon, and Google want to get in the living room and are waging war against Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft already has an edge in living room entertainment with its Xbox 360 platform, but it wants a piece of mobile as well. A host of console gaming alternatives are rising, and the PC is seeing a big resurgence.

Everyone is converging on mobile because of its potential multibillion-gamer audience. But market share has been fragmented to date. Developers can launch directly into the sector to win over consumers, but they can get lost in a sea of titles. How will they get noticed? Who will help them market their games on a higher level? And with free-to-play becoming dominant, what is the right way to make money from games?

Last year’s keynote speaker was Mark Pincus (pictured above), chief executive of Zynga.

It’s a shaky and confusing time in the game industry, and GamesBeat 2013 will help you navigate through it. You’ll meet executives and developers from big game companies and the startups that matter. They’ll share their 360-degree perspectives on the business of gaming and give you a glimpse of what’s to come. We’ll also have invaluable insight from venture capitalists, investors, support firms, marketers, and more.

You can get full event details here, and make sure to grab your early bird tickets now and save 20%!