2009 Game Developers Conference Mobile

SAN FRANCISCO – Jan. 22, 2009 – Neil Young, CEO and founder, ngmoco will headline the 2009 Game Developers Conference® Mobile (GDC Mobile), with a keynote presentation titled “Why the iPhone Just Changed Everything.” Young’s keynote will declare the iPhone the most exciting innovation of the last year and explore the opportunity Apple’s device and the ecosystem offers. Adding to the iPhone excitement, Qualcomm’s Mike Yuen and Zeebo’s John Rizzo will co-present a featured talk, unveiling a brand-new gaming device, the two are deeming the fourth console aimed at emerging international markets. Covering the spectrum from iPhone to new launches to everything in between, GDC Mobile will boast a robust line up of talks surveying the entire mobile games sector. GDC Mobile 2009 will take place March 23 and 24, at Moscone Convention Center, in San Francisco.

Young’s keynote will contend that the introduction of iPhone and the class of devices it represents is as important a game changer as the definitive inflection points in the games industry such as the introduction of all of the key consoles and gaming devices. iPhone has not only changed the possibilities for mobile gaming but is proving to emerge as a gaming device as compelling as existing dedicated handheld game devices. With far reaching impacts on publishing, distribution and development, the iPhone has merged the best of mobile, with traditional games and then added new media economics. Neil Young will bring the classic game maker’s perspective to the GDC Mobile keynote and talk about why, to his own surprise, he left his role at Electronic Arts to build a new class of mobile games. He will share with the audience his learnings, and draw a vision for the not-so-distant future, and the opportunities the new mobile devices present.

Prior to founding ngmoco, Neil held various positions at Electronic Arts, most recently as the Group General Manager of the EA|Blueprint Studio group that included Maxis (creators of Spore™ & The Sims™) and EA’s collaborative partnership with Steven Spielberg. Prior to EA/Blueprint, Neil served both as Vice President and General Manager of EA Los Angeles and EA Maxis, where he oversaw all aspects of the studios responsible for the blockbuster franchises Medal of Honor™, Command &Conquer™, The Lord of the Rings™ & The Sims™. In 1997 he supervised the launch of the world's first Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game, UltimaOnline™. In addition to his other producing and management credits, he was also the creator and driving force behind Majestic™, the first Alternate Reality Game (ARG).

“GDC Mobile will cover the full spectrum of opportunities and issues mobile game developers must keep in mind,” commented Meggan Scavio, event director, GDC. “We are incredibly excited to host such a decorated game maker as Neil Young to share his insights and inspiration, as it relates to the momentous arrival of iPhone as a gaming device.”

Additional content addressing the growing iPhone market at GDC Mobile 2009 includes:

· The Challenges and Success of Porting Games to the Apple iPhone, by Mike Pagano, EA Mobile

· Post Mortem: Super Monkey Ball iPhone, by Ethan Einhorn, SEGA

· The iPhone Bag of Tricks, by Guido Henkel, G3 Studios

· Social Games for Android, iPhone, Java, C+ + and Objective C: Where do you fit in? by Paul Forster, Pick Up And Play

The Zeebo and Qualcomm executives will present a session called “4 - Gaming for the Next Billion,” in which they will reveal a contender to the current consoles. Mike Yuen, Senior Director, Gaming, Qualcomm and John Rizzo, Chief Executive Officer, Zeebo will talk about the new system, which has been designed to provide interactive fun and learning for the next billion consumers in the world's emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, China, and India. Rampant piracy, high import duties, lack of local content, and high product prices create difficult economic conditions for console manufacturers, publishers, and developers in emerging economies. By leveraging Qualcomm technologies, 3G networks and the BREW ecosystem, Zeebo is preparing to launch a system which could become the world’s fourth console designed to provide interactive fun and learning for the next billion consumers in the world's emerging markets.

GDC Mobile 2009 will provide mobile game developers from around the globe the opportunity to debate the future of the medium with executives from leading mobile network operators, advanced technology providers, handset manufacturers, and major console game publishers. Held in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference, GDC Mobile 2009 will offer in-depth technical and business oriented mobile game development sessions supported by research and market analysis for every region in the world.

The full lineup of speakers and sessions can be found at http://www.gdcmobile.com/.

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