GamesBeat speaker spotlight: Hope for Windows 8 gaming?

Is Windows 8.1 going to be a window of opportunity for games on the PC and Windows Phone, or will it take Windows gaming into obscurity?

We’re pleased to announce that Ari Levy, a technology editor and reporter for Bloomberg News, will moderate a session on this topic at our conference on Oct. 29-Oct. 30 in Redwood City, Calif. He will interview Arkadium chief executive Kenny Rosenblatt, who has made a big bet on Windows gaming, and Microsoft Windows Games manager Justin Saint Clair. They will field tough questions on what it takes to make the No. 1 gaming system in the world expand from PCs to tablets and smartphones. They’ll talk about what the next frontier in gaming will be and the hurdles Microsoft has to overcome.

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Here are the rest of the speakers we have announced for the proceedings:

• John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment
• Geoff Keighley, the host of Spike TV’s GTTV
• Clive Downie, the CEO of DeNA West
• Sean Ryan, the head of game partnerships at Facebook
• Mike Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association
• Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Tim Chang, the managing director at Mayfield Fund
• Victor Kislyi, the CEO of Wargaming
• Julie Uhrman, the CEO of Ouya
• John Riccitiello, an active game investor and former CEO of Electronic Arts
• Tony Bartel, the president of GameStop
• Simon Khalaf, the CEO of Flurry
• Owen Mahoney, the chief financial officer and chief administrative officer at Nexon
• Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus VR
• Frank Gibeau, the president of EA Labels at Electronic Arts
• Robin Hunicke, the co-founder of Funomena
• Wim Stocks, the executive vice president at Virgin Gaming
• Mark Donovan, the president of Xfire
• Gabriel Leydon, the CEO of Machine Zone
• Adam Sessler, the executive producer of Revision3 Games
• Martin Rae, the president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
• Clive Downie, the CEO of DeNA West
• Kevin Chou, the CEO of Kabam
• Tim Merel, the managing director at Digi-Capital
• Sunny Dhillon, an 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 companies compete across platforms, territories, digital and physical markets, and categories of games.

We’ve entered an era where many firms are vying 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 gamemakers. Where should they take their titles? Which platforms will provide the best experiences? Who will make them the most money?

Register here.

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 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.

Sign up today!

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Thanks to the following industry leaders for supporting GamesBeat 2013 as sponsors: Ad2Games, AppLift, Games Analytics, NativeX, Renren Games, and Tapjoy as Gold Sponsors; Flurry, Kontagent, Playnomics, Storm8, and LifeStreet Media as Silver Sponsors; AppFlood, Twitch and Slashdot as Event Sponsors; Akamon Entertainment, Arkadium and OnLive as contributing sponsors. If you’d like to become a sponsor, please send a message to sponsors@venturebeat.com.