GamesBeat@GDC speakers: Norwest, Nexon, Morris

We’ve tapped some more smart people who know the gaming business as speakers for our upcoming  GamesBeat@GDC executive game conference. The event is set for March 10 in San Francisco at the Game Developers Conference in the Moscone Convention Center. Today we’re announcing the following speakers have been added to our lineup:

Tim Chang, principal, Norwest Venture Partners. Chang will be part of our panel entitled The Best Disruptive Game Investment Opportunities for 2010 and Beyond. He leads Norwest’s investments in mobile, gaming, and digital media/entertainment. He also manages NVP’s China and Asia investment efforts. His portfolio companies include Playdom, ngmoco, Lumos Labs, PCH International, Brite Semi, and 3jam. Tim is also the bassist for the Punjabi funk band BlackMahal, and recently performed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Won Il Sue, vice president of business development, Nexon America. Won will be speaking on our panel Gaming Without Borders about overseas game markets. He manages Nexon America’s strategic partnerships and its game development channels. He actually served as chief executive of Nexon Corp. between 2004 and 2005, and founded the Internet startup Smartplay. He was also an executive at Neowiz Games in South Korea.

Chris Morris, freelance journalist and editor of VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner. Morris will moderate our panel on Disruptive Innovation. He has been a jolly co-conspirator of mine, covering the game industry as far back as I remember. He is witty and knows enough to ask the tough questions. He started covering consumer technology and video games in 1996, writing stories about the existence of the Game Boy Advance and the first details of “Half-Life 2.” He spent a long stint as the author of CNNMoney’s Game Over online column. He currently writes and edits “The Cut Scene,” Variety’s video game blog and writes the “Business of Xbox” column for Official Xbox Magazine. His work also regularly appears on CNBC.com, Yahoo! Games and AOL.

Here’s a review of our theme for the conference:

Disruption 2.0. We’ll focus on the next disruptions that will happen in the video game industry. In the past couple of years, social games with virtual goods business models have proved themselves and shaken up the status quo. The iPhone has become a hot platform, and Apple hopes to extend further into games with the iPad. Digital distribution and online games are growing. Will these trends gather more momentum and prove to be sustainable, or will new platforms and business models disrupt the disruptors?

The big game companies and brands are maneuvering into the market, even as successful startups are consolidating their gains and acquiring companies. Are console game makers poised to make a comeback as the recession ends? As growth returns to the industry in 2010, who will be poised to take market share and define the next-generation of games? Game companies that are doing the disrupting, adapting and growing will be speaking at the conference.

Who’s Got Game contest: Our deadline is fast-approaching for the contest for best game startup. We’ll close off applications for the contest at the end of the day, 5 pm Pacific time, on Friday, Feb. 26, so get your entry forms filled out. The top finalists will appear on stage at GamesBeat@GDC before a panel of expert judges. Those judges will select the winner.

For more conference info, check out our GamesBeat 2010 web site and our Facebook Group for GamesBeat@GDC. Our sponsors include the Georgia Department of Economic Development, PlaySpan, AdMob, and hi5.