Our conference on the coming “Battle Royal” in gaming is coming together. Here’s our preliminary agenda for GamesBeat 2013.

We’ve been busy booking the following announced speakers for our event Oct. 29-30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif.:

  • John Riccitiello, active game investor and former CEO of Electronic Arts
  • Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus VR
  • Owen Mahoney, CFO, 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?

Agenda

Tuesday, Oct. 29
8:00am – 9:10am Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:10am – 9:20am General Opening Remarks (Grand Ballroom)
Speakers
Dean Takahashi, Lead GamesBeat Writer, VentureBeat
Dan Hsu, GamesBeat Writer, VentureBeat
9:20am – 9:50am Opening Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Disrupting the Traditional Game Cycle
Oculus VR 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 company is gaining credibility as an alternative platform to the consoles. Brendan Iribe, chief executive, will open the conference with a fireside chat and a demo of the Oculus Rift.
Speaker
Brendan Iribe, CEO, Oculus VR
Moderator
Dan “Shoe” Hsu, Editor in Chief, GamesBeat
9:50am – 10:40am Opening Keynote (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
TBA
Moderator
TBA
10:40am – 11:10am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Key investors and analysts discuss the disruptive force of the current Battle Royal
Speaker
Tim Merel, Managing Director, Digi-Capital
Sunny Dhillon, Signia Ventures
Moderator
Martin Rae, President, AIAS
11:10am – 11:25am Morning Coffee Break (Ballroom Foyer)
11:25am – 11:50am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
A conversation with Bing and Tim
Speakers
Bing Gordon, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund
Moderator
Dean Takahashi, Lead GamesBeat Writer, VentureBeat
11:50am – 12:15am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels, Electronic Arts
Moderator
Geoff Keighley, Host of GTTV, Spike TV
12:15pm – 1:30pm Lunch & Roundtable Discussions: HTML5 gaming, virtual reality, micro consoles, and gesture controls  (Blue & Veranda Rooms)
1:30pm – 1:55pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
1:55pm – 2:20pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Steve Wadsworth, CEO, TapJoy
Moderator
Michael Metzger, Principal,Covert & Co.
2:20pm – 2:30pm Transition to Breakout Rooms (4)
2:30pm – 3:15pm Breakout Session (Salon 1 – upstairs)
1. eSports
Panelists
Wim Stocks, EVP at Virgin Gaming
Mark Donovan, President, Xfire
Moderator
Brock Pierce, Director, Clearstone Global Gaming Fund
2. Creating Mobile Ad Experiences that Don’t Suck hosted by NativeX (Salon 2 – upstairs)
Terrible advertising in mobile is the standard. How many interrupting pop-ups, unreadable banner ads, or accidental close-clicks have you experienced? As long as there is free-to-play in gaming, in-app advertisements will exist. Before you groan, boo, or hiss, think about this; 95% of players will never make an in-app purchase. Instead of just writing ads off as a necessary evil and spamming users with push notifications, what happens when developers approach advertising with the same level of precision and design as their game’s UX. During this session we’ll answer that question, learn how to increase ad revenue without hurting the UX, and look to where we might be heading in the future.
Panelists
Trip Hawkins, Founder, Electronic Arts and Digital Chocolate
Ben Sipe, NativeX
Moderator
TBA
3. The Rise of Asian Games (Salon 4 – upstairs)
Panelists
TBA
Moderator
TBA
4. TBA (Grand Salon – downstairs)
Panelists
TBA
Moderator
TBA
3:15pm – 3:45pm Afternoon Coffee Break (Ballroom Foyer)
3:45pm – 4:10pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
The Changing Face of Games and Gamers
From the White House to your house, games, gamers, and game platforms are evolving and changing. Dean Takahashi sits down with the Entertainment Software Association’s CEO, Michael Gallagher, in candid and casual conversation about new industry opportunities and the challenges that remain.
Speaker
Mike Gallagher, President, Entertainment Software Association
Moderator
Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat
4:10pm – 4:40pm Panel (Grand Ballroom)
Social Casino Games Move to the Main Stage
Social casino games have become a hot gaming market in the past couple of years, but some of the froth is gone and big acquisitions have brought major players into the space. What will happen next? Was it a fad, or will it keep on gaining market share on other kinds of games? What’s the best way to make money, and what will happen when real-money gambling arrives in the U.S.? We’ve assembled a panel of seers who are making big bets in this market to give your the answers.
Panelists
Carey DiJulio, General Manager, Big Fish Casino
Chris Griffin, CEO, Betable
Robert Melendres, EVP, Interactive Group at IGT
Moderator
Alex Kelly, CEO, Playsino
4:40pm – 5:05pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Asia’s Growing Influence on the US Games Industry
The games market is undergoing a massive change as platforms continue to converge, and the free-to-play business model is gaining momentum in the West. Yet Nexon – the global company that pioneered F2P over 15 years ago, which generated more than $1.3 billion in revenues and operating margins of over 40 percent in 2012 – has become a quiet giant, but it isn’t well known in the U.S. Nexon CFO Owen Mahoney will discuss the new realities of the U.S. gaming industry, strategies to succeed in the West and how Nexon plans to disrupt the console status quo.
Speaker
Owen Mahoney, CFO, Nexon
5:05pm – 5:25pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Signs of Maturity in Mobile Gaming
5+ years after its launch, the app store has become a rational place to build a gaming business. One sign of maturity? Market leaders like Rovio rely on traditional marketing strategies and multi-million dollar budgets to build long term franchises. There are still plenty of opportunities for indie game developers to make it big, but they now need to be smarter marketers and business strategists to compete to win. Simon Khalaf will discuss signs of maturity in mobile gaming, look at what the big mobile franchises have done right, and pinpoint what small developers can learn from the Rovios and Imangis of the world when it comes to marketing for long term success even without a studio-sized budget.
Speaker
Simon Khalaf, CEO, Flurry
Moderator
Dan “Shoe” Hsu, Editor in Chief, GamesBeat
5:25pm – 5:30pm Closing Remarks (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Dean Takahashi, Lead GamesBeat Writer, VentureBeat
5:30pm – Hosted Opening Reception (Veranda & Blue Room)

Wednesday, October 30th
8:00am – 9:00am Registration & Continental Breakfast (Ballroom Foyer)
9:00am – 9:05am Opening Remarks (Grand Ballroom)
Speakers
Dean Takahashi, Lead GamesBeat Writer, VentureBeat
Matt Marshall, Founder, Editor & Chief, VentureBeat
9:05am – 9:35am Opening Panel (Grand Ballroom)
Panelists
TBA
Moderator
TBA
9:35am – 9:55am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
John Riccitiello, Game Investor & former CEO, Electronic Arts
Moderator
Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat
9:55am – 10:15am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Sean Ryan, Head of Game Partnerships, Facebook
Moderator
Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat
10:15am – 10:45am Morning Coffee Break & Quick Connect Networking Activity (Ballroom Foyer & Salon 1)
10:45am – 11:05am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Victor Kisilyi, CEO, Wargaming
11:05am – 11:25am Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Julie Uhrman, CEO, Ouya
Moderator
Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat
11:25am – 11:35am Transition to Breakout Rooms
11:35am – 12:25pn Breakout Sessions
1. TBA (Salon 1 – upstairs)
Panelists
TBA
Moderator
TBA
2. TBA (Salon 2 – upstairs)
Panelists
TBA
Moderator
TBA
3. (Salon 4 – upstairs)
4. (Grand Salon – downstairs)
12:25pm – 1:45pm Lunch (Blue & Veranda Room)
1:45pm – 2:45pm Who’s Got Game Innovation Showdown (Grand Ballroom)
Six to eight companies present will present on stage in five-minute sessions. Our three judges and moderator will listen and decide who has the best pitch. Our all-star panel will ask questions and offer comments.
Judges
Michael Chang, Managing Director, Mavent Partners
Moderator
Dan “Shoe” Hsu, Editor in Chief, GamesBeat
2:45pm – 3:10pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Tony Bartel, President, GameStop
Moderator
Adam Sessler, Gaming Host, Revision 3
3:10pm – 3:30pm Afternoon Coffee Break (Ballroom Foyer)
3:30pm – 3:55pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Kevin Chou, CEO, Kabam
3:55pm – 4:20pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
The Future of Gaming Technology
Speaker
Mark Rein, Vice President, Epic Games
Tony Tamasi, Nvidia
Moderator
Dan “Shoe” Hsu, Editor in Chief, GamesBeat
4:20pm – 4:35pm Fireside Chat (Grand Ballroom)
Speaker
Clive Downie, CEO of DeNA West
Moderator
Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer, GamesBeat
4:35pm – 4:45pm Closing Remarks & Innovation Showdown Winners Announced (Grand Ballroom)
Speakers
Dean Takahashi, Lead GamesBeat writer, VentureBeat
Dan Hsu, GamesBeat Writer, VentureBeat
4:45pm – 5:45pm Hosted Closing Reception (Veranda & Blue Room)

Special thanks to the industry leaders who are supporting GamesBeat 2013: NativeX, renren games, & Tapjoy as Gold Sponsors; Flurry, Kontagent, & Lifestreet Media as Silver Sponsor; AppFlood & Slashdot as Event Sponsors.