Social casino games have become a hot market in the past couple of years, but some of the froth is gone and big acquisitions have brought major players into the space. What will happen next? Was it a fad, or will it keep on gaining market share on other kinds of games? What’s the best way to make money, and what will happen when real-money gambling arrives in the U.S.? We’ve assembled a panel of seers who are making big bets in this market to give you the answers.
Above: Paul Thelen of Big Fish Games
We’ll evaluate the landscape of social casino games at our GamesBeat 2013 conference in a main stage session on day one. The event is Oct. 29-Oct. 30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif. What we’ve seen so far is that social casino games have become one of the most competitive markets in all of gaming, and that some big players are maneuvering into the market.
Here are our panelists:
- Paul Thelen, CEO of Big Fish Games
- Chris Griffin, CEO of Betable
- Robert Melendres, EVP of Interactive Group at IGT, the world’s biggest slot machine maker
- Ken Murphy, studio head at GameHouse
The moderator is Alex Kelly, CEO of Playsino.
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, Animoca, GameHouse, Kontagent, Playnomics, Storm8, and LifeStreet Media as Silver Sponsors; AppFlood, Twitch, Slashdot and Visionnaire Ventures as Event Sponsors; Akamon Entertainment, Arkadium, YoYo Games, OnLive, P4RC, and Virtuix as contributing sponsors. If you’d like to become a sponsor, please send a message to sponsors@venturebeat.com.