3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® Announces Speakers and Sessions

Unicomm, LLC, a leading event management company, and The Bob Dowling Group have announced speakers and sessions for the second annual 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® presented in association with Variety, scheduled for Thursday, September 22, 2011 at the Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, CA. Producers have also confirmed Mick Hocking, Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, as a featured speaker.

The 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® is co-located with the 3D Entertainment Summit® and the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit® presented by Ortsbo, both presented in association with Variety and taking place September 20-22, 2011. (Note: Due to scheduling conflicts, Mr. Hocking’s remarks will be delivered on September 20^th; exact time TBA.) Together the three conferences comprise the most comprehensive array of experts, research and analysis covering the 3D and mobile entertainment sectors. Attendees will gain practical insight into technology developments, market considerations, adoption rates, creative and production strategies, content aggregation, talent and licensing issues.

Mr. Hocking is also Director of the Worldwide Studios 3D Team supervising the development of 3D games across Sony’s entire platform. He has been largely responsible for the creation and development of some of PlayStation’s leading racing brands; notably the officially licensed World Rally Championship (WRC) series of games for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the multi-platinum selling and award-winning MotorStorm® franchise for the PlayStation®3 (PS3™). Mr. Hocking has won numerous awards for the creation and development of key artificial intelligence based gaming systems (WARGEN) and for PC flight simulations such as EF2000, F22-ADF and Total Air War. WARGEN went on to be licensed by the Royal Air Force as a training aid and instruction tool.

"Similar to HDTV and Blu-ray, 3D adoption will be led in large part by gamers," said Mr. Hocking. "With 3D content now exploding across movies, TV, and of course video games, including more than 50 titles on PlayStation 3, gamers now have more choices than ever. One of the most important factors in the continued growth of the 3D market is the need for the games industry to produce high quality 3D experiences. This will certainly bring more consumers in and it's clear that once they experience true stereoscopic 3D, the feedback is overwhelming positive."

The 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming & Beyond® will feature a jam-packed, full day of world-class programming, and highlight the latest in gaming technology as part of the Entertainment Technology Showcase, an exclusive exhibits/tabletops area within the event venue. The conference will explore how videogames, aided by new technologies like stereoscopic 3D and augmented reality, are bridging the gap between interactive and linear entertainment.

"With Sony pushing stereoscopic 3D with top releases like MLB 11 The Show, Uncharted 3 and Resistance 3, coupled with Nintendo's recent $80 price cut on Nintendo 3DS, and Market and Research forecasting the global 3D TV market will reach $100 billion by 2014; 3D gaming isn't going away," said John Gaudiosi, Senior Content Advisor to the Summit and co-founder of Gamerlive.tv. "Companies like Sony, Nintendo, NVIDIA, Sprint, LG, AT&T, and HTC are investing heavily in 3D games. But the game industry is also growing at a record pace with Gartner Research forecasting global video game sales reaching $74 billion in 2011, which is why this year's conference is expanding to include some key growth areas like cloud gaming, augmented reality gaming, mobile gaming, and social gaming."

Speakers and sessions at the 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® will include:

¦ Mike Chase, CTO, dinCloud

¦ Matt Costello, President, Polar Productions Ltd.

¦ Ethan Einhorn, Creative, Director, Sega America, Inc.

¦ Loren Lanning, Co-Founder, Odd World Inhabitants

¦ Rick Marazzani, Director of Content and Programming, Exent

¦ Matt Norton, Studio Director, Bigpoint

¦ Chris Petrovic, GM GameStop Digital Ventures, GameStop Corp.

¦ Matty Rich, Hollywood 3D Director and Game Creator

¦ Neil Schneider, Executive Director, S-3D Gaming Alliance and President/CEO, Meant To Be Seen

¦ Mike Schramm, Contributing Editor, JoyStiq

¦ Brian Selzer, President/Co-Founder, Ogmento, Inc

¦ Shane Shatterfield, VP, Content, MTV Networks

¦ Bruno Uzzan, Co-Founder & CEO, Total Immersion

¦ Jay Wright, Senior Director, Business Development, Qualcomm

¦ Careen Yapp, Vice-President, Acquisitions and Franchise Development, Konami Digital Entertainment

Social Gaming

Companies like Zynga and Facebook have changed the face of gaming, while introducing millions of new fans to the hobby. Social games are also attracting sizable female demographic as well as older gamers. And the new line-up of smartphones and tablets are opening up social gaming beyond the PC. A panel of experts will explore what's next for the evolution of social games.

Glasses-Free 3D Gaming is Officially a Trend

A look at how autostereoscopic devices like the Nintendo 3DS, the Sprint HTC Evo 3D and the AT&T LG Thrill are opening up new audiences to glasses-free 3D gaming and entertainment. A panel of some of the leading game developers from THQ, Gameloft, Ubisoft and EA Mobile discuss what 3D opens up to them creatively. They’ll also explore the cross-over effect of glasses-free gaming to the living room.

A New Augmented Reality

New tablets like Apple’s iPad 2 and Motorola Xoom, smartphones like the iPhone4 and LG Mobile Optimus 2X, and gaming devices like Nintendo 3DS and Sony PSP are opening up a mainstream audience to augmented reality. Game makers, advertisers and technology experts will discuss the ramifications of this new technology, which combines real-world objects with virtual characters for unique user interactions.

Gaming in the Cloud

Video game companies like Gaikai and OnLive are bypassing traditional retail stores and serving games to consumers through TVs, laptops, tablets and other devices. The age of gaming in the cloud, where servers host the software and allow any device to run high-end games, is here. A panel of experts will discuss why gaming in the cloud will change the business of video games.

Unicomm LLC is an independent business-to-business communications company specializing in originating and managing world class trade shows and conferences in underserved and nascent markets. Founded in 1998 in Milford, CT, Unicomm enjoys an impressive track record of dozens of successful show launches and hundreds of event productions. Unicomm’s properties include the 3D Entertainment Summit®, the 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® and the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit® all presented in association with Variety; the Travel & Adventure Show in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta; the Faith Travel Conference & Exposition™ and Travel & Destination Summit™. For more information: www.unicomm.org. For more information on sponsorship and exhibition at the Entertainment Summits, please contact Sharon Pierce at 203.713.1083 or spierce@3d-summit.com.

The Bob Dowling Group - For 17 years through 2007, Bob Dowling was editor-in-chief and publisher of The Hollywood Reporter and president of the VNU Business Media Film and Performing Arts Group. During Dowling's tenure, The Reporter launched numerous new products, including the HollywoodReporter.com Web site, e-mail edition, weekly edition, THR East, Literary Hollywood, Festival de Cannes dailies and the Oscar Screening Guide, as well as many annual events such as the Women in Entertainment Power 100 stand-alone issue and its related breakfast event, the Next Generation ranking of prominent young executives, the Film and TV Music Conference and the reorganized Key Art Awards. Dowling recently started his own information and consulting firm, the Bob Dowling Group, to serve clients looking to navigate the converging worlds of entertainment and technology.

3D Entertainment Summit® -- Now in its fourth year, the world’s leading business event on "everything 3D” is bigger and better than ever as it explores the 3D marketplace from all angles. With an expanded international focus and additional programming on broadcast, television and alternate content -- this will be the largest and most expansive event to date. The conference covers the biggest 3D drivers including: Theatrical; Creative; Sports; Games; International, Home Entertainment and Convergence. And for the first time, 3D Entertainment Summit and 3D Gaming Summit will be held in the same week at our new Hollywood location. Event Date: September 20-22, 2011 at Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, CA.

LA Mobile Entertainment Summit® -- The 2^nd Annual LA Mobile Entertainment Summit presented by Ortsbo will host the brightest minds in mobile technology, interactive media and entertainment to examine how content and rapidly evolving technology is dramatically changing the entertainment marketplace. The event is all about connecting the ecosystem among digital assets, original content and mobile platforms to reach consumers in today’s multi-screen environment. Event Date: September 20-21, 2011 at Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, CA.

3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® -- Now in its 2nd year, the 3D Gaming Summit® in association with Variety will for the first time be held in conjunction with the 3D Entertainment Summit® in Hollywood. The conference will feature a jam-packed, full day of world-class programming, and highlight the latest in Gaming Technology as part of the Entertainment Technology Showcase, an exclusive exhibits/tabletops area within the event venue. Event Date: September 22, 2011 at Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, CA.

Variety - Variety is the leading publication for business entertainment news, recognized and respected throughout the world of show business. The Variety Group – Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Weekly Variety and Variety.com – are all owned by Reed Business Information (RBI), the largest business publisher in the U.S. RBI is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: RUK and ENL).

Links:

3D Entertainment Summit®
http://www.3d-summit.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/3DSummit
Twitter: @3DEntSummit

3D Gaming Summit: Gaming and Beyond®
http://www.3dgamingsummit.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GamingAndBeyond
Twitter: @3DGamingSummit

LA Mobile Entertainment Summit®
http://www.lamobilesummit.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MobileEntertainmentSummit
Twitter: @LAMobileSummit