John Smedley to keynote GDC Austin

Think Services has announced the latest keynote to be added to this year's GDC Austin event, talking place in September, as Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley.

The session, entitled "From Dragons and Daggers to Kart Racing, Cooking and Concerts... It's a Whole New MMO World," will look at the challenges associated with putting together an MMO for kids, based on learnings from its latest success, Free Realms.

The discussion will cover market research, focus testing, business intelligence, online and retail distribution, and customer acquisition and retention strategies.

Other key sessions recently announced include the Frank Pearce/J Allen Brack talk on operating Blizzard's World of Warcraft.

The event takes place across September 15-18 at the Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas.