Less Than a Week Left for Early Registration Just what does attendance get you at the LOGIN Conference?
We're incredibly excited about some of the new things we have planned for LOGIN this year (big announcements coming soon), but don't wait until prices go up to find out. Register today and join your peers at one of the game industry's premiere conferences.
New Speakers AnnouncedThe LOGIN team has been busy reviewing speaker submissions. We are extremely pleased to announce more speakers. We will be announcing more speakers and sessions over the coming months, so stay tuned for the complete list.
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Industry HighlightsEA Studio Exec: $60 Games Take Advantage of ConsumersBen Cousins, general manager of Electronic Arts' Easy Studios, was recently intereviewed in UK gaming Rock, Paper Scissors, and hit upon a sore subject: free-to-play gaming versus retail gaming. Cousins said, "I can't think of anything more exploitative than gating all of your content behind having to pay someone $60. That's a really harsh business model if you think about it objectively." Runic Skips out on Subscription Model for Torchlight MMORunic Games' CEO Max Schaefer has openly admitted what many game companies must consider behind closed doors: The company is making a critical decision for a game project because of World of Warcraft. The developer has decided against taking the subscription route for its upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game Torchlight because World of Warcraft dominates the subscription-based games business. Gameloft Exploring TV and Android for GrowthGameloft SA, a mobile and casual game developer, is looking beyond its familiar turf on WiiWare and DS, Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, Apple's iPod, iTouch and iPhones, and PCs for growth. Through interviews, Gameloft executives have stated that new platforms would be a focus in the near future, specifically Amazon's Android application delivery platform and the connected TV marketplace. Pearl Research: Asian Internet Cafes Will Generate $19B in 2011Pearl Research has recently produced a report that gives a glimpse into just how important the Internet café business is to the Asian gaming world. The report, which includes China, Korea, Taiwan, India, and Vietnam, estimates the revenue they will earn from cybercafes in 2011 alone will reach $19 billion. Square Enix Extending Its Reach Into Mobile GamingSquare Enix has announced the formation of a Japanese mobile gaming development studio, Hippos Lab. Launched on March 7, the wholly owned subsidiary will be focusing on high-quality original IP rather than existing Square Enix IP like Final Fantasy. Even though it's been only a couple weeks since the studio was launched, the company is already announcing that its first release will be coming shortly. GameStop Sees Profitability Through a Presence in Digital DistributionDigital gaming retailer GameStop for the first time reported its digital content delivery sales figures. The Dallas area-based company said its digital delivery business grew 61 percent to $290 million in 2010 and that it expects a similar year-over-year growth rate in 2011. GameStop also reported a record-breaking $9.47 billion sales, up $4.3 percent over 2009, with profit clocking in at $408 million, an 8.1 percent jump. Echo Bazaar Move to Freemium, Doubles IncomeAfter changing transactional methods, Failbetter Games' Echo Bazaar doubles its profits. The critically acclaimed game previously worked with microtransactions but found immediate success in a premium-status subscription model. Metacritic Now Aggregating Developer ScoresInternet opinions must be short, to the point, and have a score at the end, approximating the writer's overall opinions into comparable numbers. Soon, this concept will be brought to game developers as well. Metacritic — the website best-known for compiling aggregate review scores of movies, games, and other media — is now rating game developers for their overall skill and mastery in game design. Game Startup Panel Discusses Human Recourses and ScalingThe Washington Interactive Network discussed how to find employees once your startup studio needs to expand. The overall verdict: Know who you are, and others will find you. The session also emphasized the importance of creating an office culture and maintaining transparency with employees. |
Sponsorship Opportunities Available at LOGIN 2011Without our sponsors there would be no LOGIN! We are currently seeking sponsors for the 2011 event. Interested? To learn more about sponsorship opportunities at LOGIN visit the sponsorship page on our website, contact Cynthia Freese at cynthia@loginconference.com, or call 1.425.533.5973. |
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