Meet the all-star moderators of GamesBeat 2014

We are excited to announce expert gaming moderators to go with our who’s who speakers at GamesBeat 2014, our sixth annual game industry conference that takes place Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 at the Parc 55 Wyndham Hotel in San Francisco. Many of the participants are veterans of the GamesBeat stage, and they include analysts, venture investors, game journalists, and consultants.

We have some different formats this year, including solo talks as well as casual chats between industry executives. But most of our sessions are point-blank fireside chats between an expert and an insider.

Above: At GamesBeat 2013 Geoff Keighley quizzed Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley on user-generated content in online games. Smedley said one 16-year-old will get a surprise $8,000 check for a PlanetSide 2 contribution.

Image Credit: Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat

Our moderators include:

Dean Takahashi, lead news writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat (multiple fireside chats)
Dan “Shoe” Hsu, editor-in-chief at GamesBeat at VentureBeat (multiple fireside chats and Innovation Showdown contest)
Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Advisors at Frank Magid Associates (fireside chats with EA CEO Andrew Wilson and Andy Zhong of FunPlus)
Tal Blevins, vice president of game content at IGN Entertainment (fireside chat with Sims creators Lucy Bradshaw and Rachel Franklin)
Geoff Keighley, game journalist and executive in charge of game publisher relations at Spike TV (fireside chats with Kym Nelson of Twitch and Peter Molyneux of 22cans)
Japheth Dillman, cofounder of YetiZen (session on game monetization)
Melissa Blau, director of iGaming Capital (session on the latest in social casino games)
Will O’Neal, editor-in-chief at TechRadar.com at Future Publishing (session on future of game tech)
Jeff Grubb, news writer at GamesBeat at VentureBeat (eSports session)
Ian Sherr, writer at CNET (fireside with Zynga COO Clive Downie)
Jay Eum, managing director at TransLink Capital (session on partnering with Asian giants)
Jeff Hilbert, Co-CEO and chief strategy officer at DDM (session on taking games from the East to the West)
Philip Sanderson, partner at IDG Ventures (fireside with Telltale CEO Dan Connors)
Eric Goldberg, managing director at Crossover Technologies (fireside with Benchmark Capital’s Mitch Lasky)
Malathi Nayak, reporter at Thomson Reuters (firesides with Unity’s David Helgason and Tapjoy’s Steve Wadsworth)
Michael Pachter, managing director and game analyst at Wedbush Securities (fireside with Lionsgate’s Peter Levin and Kabam’s Chris Petrovic)
Doug Creutz, analyst at Cowen & Co. (fireside with SGN CEO Chris DeWolfe)
Martin Rae, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (fireside with Mayfield’s Tim Chang and Super Evil Megacorp’s Kristian Segerstrale)
Michele Maguire, senior strategist Niko Partners (fireside with iDreamSky founder Jeff Lyndon)
Rob Weber, cofounder of NativeX (fireside with Kixeye CEO Will Harbin)

Above: Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

We’ll also have some good emcees for the event, including me and Shoe. The others include:

Michael Pachter, managing director and game analyst at Wedbush Securities
Joseph Olin, CEO of It’s a Secret

We’ll have plenty of other speakers to come.

Purchase a ticket now.

Above: Phil Sanderson of IDG Ventures

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

Our previously announced guests include:

• Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts
• Kym Nelson, SVP at Twitch
• Jeff Lyndon, president of iDreamSky
• Kristian Segerstrale, COO at Super Evil Megacorp
• Will Harbin, CEO of Kixeye
• Rob Weber, CEO of NativeX
• Monty Kerr, cofounder of Playstudios
• Anatoly Ropotov, CEO of Game Insight
• Roy Liu, CEO of Forgame US
• AJ Redmer, head of Gumi North America
• Mikihiro Yasuda, a partner at strategic investment office at DeNA
• James Zhang, CEO of Spellgun
• Aditya Rathnam, co-founder of Kamcord
• Taehoon Kim, CEO of nWay
• Simon Khalaf, president and CEO of Flurry
• James Iliff, chief creative officer at Survios
• Andy Zhong, CEO of FunPlus
• Mike Frazzini, vice president of games at Amazon
• Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games
• Chris Petrovic, head of corporate development and licensing at Kabam
• David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies
• Peter Molyneux, CEO of 22cans
• Clive Downie, chief operating officer of Zynga
• Jonathan Simpson-Bint, chief revenue officer at Twitch
• Malathi Nayak, a reporter for Reuters
• Bob Meese, global head of game business development at Google Play
• Lucy Bradshaw, a senior vice president of the Maxis label at Electronic Arts
• Rachel Franklin, general manager of The Sims Studio at EA
• Rick Thompson, chairman of Signia Ventures
• Chris DeWolfe, chief executive of SGN
• Peter Levin, president of interactive ventures and games at Lionsgate, the film studio that made The Hunger Games and Divergent
• Mike Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association
• Jens Begemann, 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, founder of Engine Co. No. 4 (talking about seeing signs of trouble in game studios)
• Tim Chang, managing director at the Mayfield Fund

Above: Melissa Blau of iGaming Capital.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

Our advisers include:

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

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

Above: Martin Rae moderated the session on game investments. His panelists noted the rise of Asia.

Image Credit: Michael O'Donnell/VentureBeat

Each year, GamesBeat follows a big trend. In 2009, we focused on how “All the World’s a Game” with the medium’s explosion 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”, covering 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 Royal” 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 companies adapt, 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 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 companies get for speaking onstage and winning the event is invaluable. An all-star panel of judges will pick the most promising entry 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

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