GamesBeat Innovation Showdown startup contest deadline expires Monday

We wanted to let all game startups know about an upcoming deadline for GamesBeat 2014, our game-industry conference that takes place Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 at the Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel in San Francisco. The deadline for the Innovation Showdown contest for the best game startup is coming up on Monday, Aug. 25, at 11:59 p.m. So get your application in for the startup with the freshest ideas and most disruptive technologies in gaming.

Above: Michael Chang of Mavent Partners

Image Credit: Mavent

Our judges so far include Michael Chang, the managing director at Mavent Partners, and Eric Goldberg, managing director of Crossover Technologies. They’ll help select seven finalists to go up onstage at GamesBeat 2014 in a presentation battle. This is your chance to showcase your product in front of 600 business and gaming execs, leaders, venture capitalists, investors, and press. We’ll add more judges shortly.

Finalists will have 4 minutes to showcase their innovative gaming technologies live at GamesBeat. Our team of judges, made up of game-industry experts and venture capitalists, will provide feedback on the products or services presented and determine the winner based on the following criteria: freshness, innovation, and potential for business success.

The Showdown winners will be announced onstage at GamesBeat and will receive coverage on GamesBeat/VentureBeat, introductions to investors and/or relevant potential customers in our network, and other prizes to be announced.

Purchase a ticket now and save $200!

Additional guidelines and rules:

• We suggest you submit a short video telling us more about your company or product with your application. This should not be an elaborate production. We are just looking for a no-frills video of the entrepreneur or executive speaking clearly about the idea.
• A person from your company (ideally, the person in the video) must be available to pitch live at GamesBeat.
• We do not permit PowerPoint presentations. Instead, you can do a live demo or video, or you can find another creative way to present your technology.
• We’ll accept products that haven’t even been launched yet — we actually encourage and prioritize this.

Above: Eric Goldberg of Crossover Technologies

Image Credit: Eric Goldberg

To submit your product/service, fill out the form below. Email events@venturebeat.com with any questions.

We look forward to reviewing your submission!

Last year’s winner was ZowPow Toys, the maker of plush toys that go with mobile apps. Other past winners have raised funding rounds, and Playnomics, the winner of our Who’s Got Game contest in 2010, was recently acquired by Unity Technologies.

Our previously announced speakers include:

• Andy Zhong, CEO of FunPlus
• James Iliff, chief creative officer and cofounder of Survios
• Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Associates
• Simon Khalaf, CEO of Flurry
• Mike Frazzini, the vice president of games at Amazon
• Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games
• Chris Petrovic, the head of corporate development and licensing at Kabam
• David Helgason, the CEO of Unity Technologies
• Peter Molyneux, the CEO of 22cans
• Clive Downie, the chief operating officer of Zynga
• Jonathan Simpson-Bint, the chief revenue officer at Twitch
• Malathi Nayak, a reporter for Reuters
• Bob Meese, the global head of game business development at Google Play
• Lucy Bradshaw, a senior vice president of the Maxis label at Electronic Arts
• Rachel Franklin, the general manager of The Sims Studio at EA
• Rick Thompson, the chairman of Signia Ventures
• Chris DeWolfe, the chief executive of SGN
• Phil Sanderson, a game-savvy partner at IDG Ventures
• Peter Levin, the president of interactive ventures and games at Lionsgate, the film studio that made The Hunger Games and Divergent
• Mike Gallagher, the president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association
• Jens Begemann, the chief executive of German social mobile game publisher Wooga
• Mitch Lasky, a general partner at Benchmark and an investor in Riot Games and Natural Motion
• John Riccitiello, a gaming investor and the former CEO of Electronic Arts
• Evan Hirsch, the founder of Engine Co. No. 4 (talking about seeing signs of trouble in game studios)
• Tim Chang, the managing director at the Mayfield Fund

Our advisers include:

• Eric Goldberg, the managing director of Crossover Technologies
• Michael Chang, the managing director of Mavent Partners
• Tim Chang, managing director at Mayfield Fund

We’ll roll out more speakers as we get closer to the event. We expect to have about 100 speakers.

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 explored 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. Last year, we talked about the “Battle Royale” as barriers between the different industry segments came down. Now, in the bid for Total World Domination, the competition to become the biggest global gaming company is wide open.

As game companies adapt to change, we’re witnessing disruption, change, consolidation, innovation, and the arrival of big money. Billions of dollars are at stake. Last year, more than 550 notables from throughout the game industry — social, mobile, online, PC, and console — attended the event. Please join us.

This year, we’ll see the return of our contest for the best gaming startup. The attention that these startups get for speaking onstage and winning the event is invaluable. An all-star panel of judges will pick the most promising game startup, based on freshness, innovation, and potential for business success. The top nominees will appear onstage, and the judges will pick the winner at the event.

We are still exploring our subthemes for the event and welcome your suggestions. If you’d like to sponsor, please send an email to sales@venturebeat.com.

Here’s what a couple of game-industry leaders said about last year’s event:

“Thanks for the contributions GamesBeat has made for this industry.” –Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

“It’s really refreshing listening to the cutting-edge innovation that is happening in the industry. I’m learning so much by being here.” –– Mike Gallagher, the president of the Entertainment Software Association

Purchase a ticket now and save $200!

Thanks to the following industry leaders for supporting GamesBeat 2014: NativeX as Corporate Partner; Tapjoy and SupersonicAds as Gold Partner; TrialPay, InMobi, and TapSense as Silver Partners; SponsorPay, LifeStreet Media, SGN, Funplus, AppLift and Personagraph as Event Partners; Pwnit and Nudge as Nest Partners.