GamesBeat 2013 speaker highlight: Oculus VR's Brendan Iribe to address disrupting the traditional game cycle

Brendan Iribe, the chief executive of Oculus VR, will speak in a fireside chat at GamesBeat 2013 on disrupting the traditional video game console cycle. Oculus VR’s headset, the Oculus Rift, is gaining momentum in its bid to introduce a new generation of virtual reality for gamers. With millions in backing and thousands of Kickstarter fans, the PC-based company is gaining credibility as an alternative platform to the consoles.

Iribe will open the conference with a fireside chat and a demo of the Oculus Rift. In little more than a year, the Oculus Rift has captured the imagination of fans on Kickstarter, where it raised $2.4 million via crowdfunding from thousands of people. It has won numerous trade-show awards for best new technology, and it began selling developer systems for $300. This summer, Oculus VR raised $16 million to churn out a version for consumers. And gaming legend John Carmack of id (Commander Keen, Castle Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake) recently joined the company full-time. Just like that, virtual reality doesn’t seem so dead anymore. Iribe will talk about that whirlwind experience and what lies ahead.

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Iribe has spent his entire career in the video games market as a serial entrepreneur and product evangelist. Before co-founding Oculus, he was the chief product officer at Gaikai, the innovative GPU cloud streaming company that was acquired by Sony and is now part of the PlayStation 4. Prior to Gaikai, Iribe spent a decade as co-founder and CEO of Scaleform, the No. 1 user interface technology provider in the video game market. Scaleform was acquired by Autodesk.

Here’s our the rest of our announced speakers for our event Oct. 29-Oct. 30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif.:

• John Riccitiello, active game investor and former CEO of Electronic Arts
• Owen Mahoney, chief financial officer, Nexon
• Frank Gibeau, the president of EA Labels at Electronic Arts
• Tim Chang, a partner at Mayfield Fund
• Robin Hunicke, the cofounder of Funomena
• Wim Stocks, the executive vice president at Virgin Gaming
• Mark Donovan, the president of Xfire
• Gabriel Leydon, the CEO of Machine Zone
• Geoff Keighley, the host of Spike TV’s GTTV
• Adam Sessler, the executive producer of Revision3 Games
• Martin Rae, the president of Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
• Bing Gordon, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Clive Downie, the CEO of DeNA West
• Tony Bartel, the president of GameStop
• Tim Merel, the managing director at Digi-Capital
• Kevin Chou, the cofounder and CEO at Kabam
• Sunny Dhillon, early stage investor at Signia Venture Partners
• Brock Pierce, the managing director of Clearstone Global Fund

Our theme for the conference is the “Battle Royal,” where all game companies compete across platforms, territories, digital and physical markets, and categories of games.

We’ve entered an era where many and varied companies are competing for gamers’ time in the same space. 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 game makers. Where should they take their games? What platforms will provide the best gaming experiences? Who will make them the most money?

Register here to save $100.

We’ll roll out 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 from 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,” focusing on the busy intersection of games and mobile technology. In 2012, we focused on “The Crossover Era,” defined by the time when so many big game companies and startups were transforming themselves by expanding from one market to the next.

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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.

Early Bird tickets are still available. Register by Sept. 11  to save $100. Sign up today!

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