Game investments are booming again with big investors like SoftBank and Nexon picking up the mantle of aggressive acquiring and funding. SoftBank and GungHo Entertainment paid $1.5 billion for a 51 percent stake in Finland’s Supercell, the maker of Clash of Clans. And Nexon has poured money into several high-profile Western game startups.
What will be next?
We’ll evaluate the state of game investments at our GamesBeat 2013 conference at our “The next billion-dollar game investment opportunity” panel. The event is Oct. 29-Oct. 30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif.
On this panel, investors and analysts discuss the changing — and evolving — gaming landscape of the current Battle Royal, where game companies compete across platforms and territories. So far this year, game acquisitions have exceeded $5 billion, compared to $4 billion for all of last year. But what does this really mean? Where is the sweet spot for game investment? How does the global nature of our business change the landscape for developers, investors and game consumers? Speed, quality, and consumer engagement dictate success in all facets of our business. Can we predict success? Do we know what will be the next great thing? Can we help each other get to the golden ring? This discussion aims at the heart of where we all want to go.
Here are our panelists:
- Tim Merel, the managing director of Digi-Capital
- Sunny Dhillon of Signia Ventures
- Lars Buttler, the managing director of Madison Sandhill Capital
- Raymond Yang, partner at WestSummit Capital
The moderator is Martin Rae, the president of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
We’ve entered the Battle Royal, an era where many firms are vying for gamers’ time. Apple 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 Live service, but it wants a piece of mobile as well. It’s a confusing time for gamemakers. Where should they take their titles? Which platforms will provide the best experiences? Who will make them the most money?
We’ll have a steady drumbeat of speakers as we get closer to GamesBeat 2013′s October date. We expect to have more than 80 of the gaming industry’s best lined up for our fifth annual event.
Each year, GamesBeat follows a big trend. In 2009, we focused on how “All The World’s a Game,” with the explosion of games on the global stage. In 2010, GamesBeat@GDC focused on “Disruption 2.0.” In 2011, our theme was “Mobile Games Level Up,” investigating the busy intersection of games and mobile technology. In 2012, we explored “The Crossover Era,” the time when so many big game companies and startups were transforming themselves by expanding from one market to the next. Our judges, meanwhile, are already busy picking the finalists in the Who’s Got Game Innovation Showdown for the best game startup.
As companies adapt to change, we’re witnessing disruption, adaptation, consolidation, innovation, and the arrival of big money. We’re talking billions of dollars that are at stake. We’re expecting 400 notables from throughout the game industry — social, mobile, online, and console. Please join us.
Thanks to the following industry leaders for supporting GamesBeat 2013 as sponsors: Ad2Games, AppLift, GamesAnalytics, NativeX, Renren Games, and Tapjoy as Gold Sponsors; Flurry, GameHouse, Kontagent, Playnomics, Storm8, and LifeStreet Media as Silver Sponsors; AppFlood, Twitch and Slashdot as Event Sponsors; Akamon Entertainment, Arkadium, OnLive and Virtuix as contributing sponsors. If you’d like to become a sponsor, please send a message to sponsors@venturebeat.com.