GameON: Finance 2.0, October 28th & 29th, 2008

Opening Remarks and Welcome

DAVID EDERY, Worldwide Games Portfolio Planner for Xbox Live Arcade and author of Changing the Game: How Video Games are Transforming the Business World

The video game industry generates over $40 billion in revenues worldwide and video game software has surpassed music sales and Hollywood box office revenues. However, despite their great effectiveness, video games still represents a negligible percentage of corporate spending.

Edery will present some of the most compelling current examples in the corporate game space and give tips on the best ways to seize
some of these future opportunities
 

PANEL - OFF THE SHELF: Can new revenue models extend the value of your game?

What is the reality behind micro-transactions in video games? Can this revenue stream be key to higher returns for your business, or is it a model that only works with very specific games and even more specific target markets? What is the value of social networks to video games, and how much can they influence where and how players will spend their money? This panel will examine these questions as well as take a hard look at ad-supported content, pay as you go models, and the dollars and cents behind the bottom line.

PANEL - PRIVATE VS PUBLIC: Comparing financing strategies that may be worlds apart

There is an old saying in the film industry: “Don’t invest your own money.” Of course the process of getting a green light for a feature film relies primarily on a screenplay, something that generally is significantly less expensive to produce than a video game prototype. Some regions now offer incentives to video game developers in the form of tax breaks and subsidies to assist in the risky development stage and potentially help companies retain intellectual property rights. Will this reduced risk increase the attractiveness of game development for investors? What can game makers learn from feature film financiers? Is this an effective model that can assist in the growth of your company? Or does it simply end up benefiting the publisher? This session will examine the intersection of public and private funds and probe these questions as they relate to video games across various platforms and business models.

PRESENTATION - PLAYING THE SPREAD: ORIGINAL VS. LICENSED IP

An exploration of value generation and economic motivations behind games based on different forms of intellectual property. Why do publishers rely heavily on licenses? Are franchises/sequels less risky? Why no love for original ideas?

IS IT ALL JUST TALK? Examining the risks and potential rewards of game development on mobile devices

Not long ago there was an explosion of enthusiasm for developing games on mobile handsets. With extremely low budgets and relatively low barriers to entry, it seemed a great entry point for a lot of emerging companies. Yet the value chain was fraught with problems. Lack of standardization on devices meant more significant back-end costs for publishers. Low resolution screens and clumsy controls limited the enthusiasm of core gamers while lack of usability and high costs for mobile data limited traction with new audiences. Now, a new generation of smartphone – lead by the iPhone – is tearing down the walls between the portable console (DS, PSP) and the cell phone. With the market for smart phones many times that of consoles, is a new revolution about to create a whole new and viable marketplace for mobile games?