Speaking at LOGIN
The call for speakers for LOGIN 2011 is open, but not much longer. Candidates are asked to review the topics of interest and session submission tips on the LOGIN 2011 website and then submit a completed session proposal form with 1,000 word abstract and biography before the deadline of Feb. 13, 2011.
"Outside of being one of the most organized conferences out there, the LOGIN team absolutely spoils their speakers," says Troy Hewitt, associate producer at NCsoft's Carbine Studios. "This isn't the black-hole submission process you've come to know from other conferences, with a level of support for speakers that is off the charts. If you are looking to share your expertise with an audience of authentic, engaged professionals, LOGIN is where you want to be this year."
"It has been a true pleasure speaking at the LOGIN Conference for the last four years, and I look forward to my fifth," says Robert Ferrari, vice president of Publishing and Business Development for Sanrio Digital. "Speaking alongside my industry peers allows me to not just help share our business cases and viewpoints with the audience, but to also tackle those thought-provoking questions we can all learn from. In addition, I can always count on an impressive event, set up by the conference's management team, which allows me to network and generate new business opportunities."
Visit the LOGIN Speaker Submissions Page.
Interview With Wanda Meloni
Looking Ahead to 2011
Wanda Meloni, founder and president of M2 Research, is a prominent voice within the game industry analyst and research community and is a past LOGIN Conference speaker. Wanda offers LOGIN Beat readers her insights into trends to keep an eye on in 2011, from the mobile and social spaces to the red-hot concept of gamification. If you want a sneak peek at Wanda's crystal ball, read on for much more!
PAUL
PHILLEO: To understand where we are going, we must first understand where we have been, specifically in 2010. What do you think are the most significant trends across the gaming industry at large that warrant the most attention?
WANDA MELONI: There are several trends that are greatly shifting the gaming industry. They are not necessarily new, but they have made major steps in 2010 and include mobile games (anything portable), microtransactions, cloud-based gaming and motion control gaming.
Do you expect these trends from 2010 to continue into 2011? And do you think a disruptive technology or idea in the gaming space may emerge that might surprise most people?
Absolutely; we believe all of these areas are going to grow significantly in 2011, and beyond. Just take a look at CES news from last week:
The market has been in a state of disruption for several years, and that will continue. However, I believe we are moving into a new phase of the cycle that I am calling "Clustering." Clustering is about experimentation. It will be the companies that can take these disruptive technologies and quickly turn them into something. We will be seeing clustering around business models, investments, platforms, partnerships and consumers.
increasingly important for companies to create for multiple platforms, and it goes back to the idea of clustering strategies.
For many folks, the most important question is not where the trends are going but where the money is headed in the near future. In what gaming-related verticals do you anticipate the greatest amount of resources could be invested in 2011?
It really is all about software and apps at the moment. So I think whether you are building games or developing tools and solutions, there is still an ample amount of opportunity out there right now. I do think it will be increasingly important for companies to create for multiple platforms, and it goes back to the idea of clustering strategies.
With the advent of streaming content delivery technologies like OnLive and the ongoing strength in digital content delivery, what does this portend for the traditional console and PC gaming hardware market?
We see this as an important part of the overall mix. Just look at John Riccitello's recent comments where he highlights digital sales at EA will outpace retail sales before the end of this year, and that free-to-play games are EA's highest ARPU titles. With the explosion of platform options, it will become a necessity to support some form of digital delivery option.
Do connected tablets represent a converging point between laptops and phones, where more online games could successfully take root?
Absolutely; again all you have to do is look at CES this year. The graphics on new tablets are amazing, and as this part of the market heats up, it is going to make for an exciting point of convergence.
Extending on the earlier thought about digital content delivery, how do you expect the role of brick-and-mortar retail spaces to be evolving in the United States?
the board.
GameStop just announced they had disappointing sales over the holiday, even with strong sales for Kinect, leading to 4.6 drop in their stock price last week. Last summer, the company acquired Kongregate in the hopes of bringing their community more online, but time will tell how impactful that will be. Retail is really struggling across the board. The entire retail business is at risk with what a Wal-Mart executive has called "a new era of price transparency." When consumers can go to one store, pull out their mobile phone, scan a product and immediately find the outlet with the best pricing, it greatly changes the face of retail.
Is Facebook going to remain the platform of choice for social game developers, or will new portals (as well as technologies) arise that will inspire innovation with the social games space?
Facebook remains entrenched obviously; however, I do believe we are going to see more social networks clustering around demographics and platforms. This is especially true on the mobile side with companies like ngmoco and OpenFeint pushing hard.
Do you feel gamification is a legitimate growth area in both the gaming and the traditional business world? If so, why?
Although still very much in its infancy, gamification is a component of the industry. Whether people Iike it or not, it will not be going away. Companies see the success of social networks and are planning on increasing their social media market spending in 2011. In some cases, companies are decreasing their TV advertising budgets to put more money into social media engagement. It's a much more directed spending of their money.
Back in the mid-'90s online consumer engagement was confined to being able to rotate a Nokia phone, take off the back and look inside. The technology has come a long way, and the notion of engagement has leapfrogged those early days. Gamification, or any form of game mechanics, if properly implemented is a powerful method of customer engagement.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind is integrating workable mechanics that offer consumers an "added-value" experience. If companies just slap on badges and leaderboards without providing an engaging experience then you might as well walk away from it. Consumers aren't stupid, and they don't want to feel like they are being tricked. There may be some missteps along the way, but it is growth opportunity.
Given the continued potency of internationalization in the game industry into 2011, which markets will have the strongest influence on the look and feel of online game content and the platforms on which it's delivered?
That's an interesting question because each region seems to be moving into new territory. North American publishers have done an incredible job at catching up to Asian markets in the online area in terms of microtransaction models. Japan has a strong foothold in the mobile market with DeNA, and their acquisition of ngmoco only solidifies their planned expansion. The European publishers like Sulake, Mind Candy, BigPoint and Funcom are all making a big push into North America right now. So really it is going to be more and more about reaching beyond current markets, tapping into new regions, and regionalizing content and payment options.
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