E3Expo Unveils Agenda for 2006 Video Game Business Conference Program

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2006: The 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo(E3Expo) conference and workshop program will include more than 175 video game industry experts who will explore key industry issues in the areas of business strategy, technology and creativity, and marketing analysis, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today. The conference program will be held May 9-11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Conference tracks for 2006 -- "Creativity and Technology: Taking Control of the Next Generation of Gameplay," "Business Strategy: Embracing a New Set of Best Practices" and "Market Analysis: Understanding the New Digital Entertainment Landscape" -- will examine a wide variety of critical subjects affecting the video game business. Topics will include: secrets of the best-selling titles; management of business risk; mobile game opportunities; the integration of entertainment; and new trends in game development. (Please see full list of sessions below.) In addition to conference sessions, E3Expo 2006 will offer a series of in-depth workshops and special midday sessions on Tuesday, May 9, which will provide attendees with a more in-depth look at key business issues.

Attendees can register for the conferences and workshops at www.e3expo.com, where daily schedules and additional conference program information are posted. Please note: E3Expo Conference Program alumni from 2004 and 2005 will receive a special discounted rate (a savings of more than $200) if registered by April 7, 2006. The following conference sessions will be held May 10 and 11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. (Please note: check www.e3expo.com as speakers are being added daily.)

CONFERENCE SESSIONS

TRACK 1: Creativity and Technology: Taking Control of the Next Generation of Gameplay

• The Inner Game: What Goes into the Industry's Best-Selling Titles

Moderator: Eric Zimmerman, Co-Founder and CEO -- gamelab

Panelists: Louis Castle, Vice President, Creative Development -- Electronic Arts -- Los Angeles

Kelly Flock, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Publishing -- THQ, Inc.

Julien Gerighty, Senior Producer -- Ubisoft Entertainment (Splinter Cell Double Agent)

Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Chief Creative Officer -- Q Entertainment (Meteos, Lumines)

Peter Molyneux, Managing Director -- Lionhead Studios (The Movies)

Richard Rouse, III, Director of Game Design -- Midway Games (The Suffering)

• Franchise Power: Understanding the DNA of the Industry's Greatest Games

Moderator: Jeff Green, Editor-in-Chief, Computer Gaming World -- Ziff Davis

Panelists: Ed Boon, Creative Director -- Midway Games (Mortal Kombat)

Grant Collier, President -- Infinity Ward (Call of Duty series)

Soren Johnson, Designer and Programmer -- Firaxis Games (Civilization IV)

Hanno Lemke, General Manager -- Electronic Arts, Vancouver (Need for Speed series)

Yannis Mallat, Vice President of New Intellectual Property -- Ubisoft Entertainment (Prince of Persia series)

• Cracking the Code of Creativity: Drawing Novelty, Awe and Adventure from Traditional Genres

Moderator: N'Gai Croal, General Editor, Technology -- Newsweek

Panelists: Lucy Bradshaw, VP, Head of Production and Development -- Maxis (Spore)

Rob Kay, Lead Designer -- Harmonix (Guitar Hero)

• Massively Cross-Platform: Closing in on the Dream of One Game, Many Platforms

Moderator: Jessica Mulligan, Author/Consultant

Panelists: Laura Fryer, Director Advance Technology Group -- Microsoft Game Studies

Richard Garriott, Executive Producer -- NCsoft

Ichiro Otobe, Chief Strategist -- Square Enix Co., Ltd

John Smedley, President -- Sony Online Entertainment

Mike Yuen, Senior Director, Gaming Group -- QUALCOMM Internet Services

• Perfecting the Mix of Story, Character Development and Interactivity

Moderator: Ian Davis, Ph.D., CEO and Founder -- Mad Doc Software, LLC (Empire Earth 2)

Panelists: David Cage, CEO and Founder -- Quantic Dream (Indigo Prophecy)

Richard Dansky, Lead Clancy Writer -- Ubisoft Entertainment

David Jaffe, Game Director -- Sony Computer Entertainment America (God of War)

Marc Laidlaw, Writer/Game Designer -- Valve Software (Half-Life, Half-Life 2)

Neil Young, Vice President, General Manager -- Electronic Arts -- Los Angeles

• How Mobile Game Creators are Using High-Speed Networks and High-end Handsets to Make Wireless Games Better

Panelists: Eric Albert, Head of North American Operations -- Gameloft

Satoshi Nakajima, Chief Technology Officer -- Square Enix Co., Ltd

Robert Nashak, Chief Creative Officer -- Glu Mobile

Eberhard Schoneburg, Chief Executive Officer -- Artificial Life (V-girl)

Lincoln Wallen, Chief Technology Officer -- Electronic Arts Mobile

• Sneak Peeks: Behind the Scenes of Three Upcoming Blockbuster Titles

Moderator: Geoff Keighley, Contributing Writer -- Business 2.0

Panelists: Cliff Bleszinski, Lead Designer -- Epic Games (showing Gears of War)

Other panelists to be announced shortly.

TRACK 2: Business Strategy: Navigating New Avenues of Success

• Persistent World Possibilities: Taking the Online Experience to the Next Level

Moderator: Richard Vogel, consultant

Panelists: Jeff Anderson, President and CEO -- Turbine, Inc.

John Blakely, Senior Producer -- Sony Online Entertainment

Mike Goslin, Vice President of Virtual Reality Studio -- Walt Disney Internet Group (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Joe Keene, Co-Chairman & CEO -- Perpetual Entertainment (Gods & Heroes, Star Trek Online)

Chris Lee, Senior Manager of Publishing, Strategy & Planning Group -- Webzen, Inc.

• When Media Giants Muscle In: Why the Game Industry Should Care about the Acquisition Appetite of News Corp., Viacom and Others

Moderator/Panelist: Gene Mauro, Owner -- Mauro Media, LLC

Panelists: Graham Hopper, Senior VP and General Manager, Buena Vista Games

Ross Levinsohn, President -- Fox Interactive Media

Stuart Snyder, General Manager -- Game Tap, Turner Gaming

Jeff Yapp, Executive Vice President -- MTV Networks Music and Logo Enterprise Group

• Inside the Production Pipeline: Managing Costs, Expectations and Competition

Moderator: Emilie 'Tobi' Saulnier, Chief Executive Officer & Founder -- 1st Playable Production

Panelists: Andrew Ayre, Founding Partner & Co-President -- Foundation 9 Entertainment

Elizabeth Loverso, Director of Product Development -- Ubisoft Entertainment

Samantha Ryan, Chief Executive Officer -- Monolith Productions

• The Next Frontier in Funding: How Hedge Funds, Foreign Money and Non-traditional Financing are Creating Opportunity for Gamemakers

Moderator: Michael Gartenberg, Vice President and Research Director -- Jupiter Research

Panelists: Craig Cooper, General Partner -- Softbank Capital Partners

Andrew Goldman, CEO, Director of Production -- Pandemic Studios

Daniel James, Chief Executive Officer -- Three Rings Design, Inc.

Mark Kern, President and CEO, Red 5 Studios

Michael Pole, CEO -- Trilogy Studios

• Casual Game World Tour: Learning from the Best that Asia and Europe Have to Offer

Panelists: David Moon, Head of Games Business Group -- NHN USA

Timo Soininen, CEO -- Sulake Labs (Habbo Hotel)

Calvin Yoo, Director, International Business Development -- Nexon Corporation (Kart Rider)

• In-game and Around-game Ad Update: The Marketer's Perspective

Moderator: Dave Madden, Executive VP Sales & Marketing -- WildTangent, Inc.

Panelists: Carol Kruse, Vice President Interactive Marketing -- Coca Cola

Monika Madrid, Senior Manager, Strategic Sales & Partnerships -- Ubisoft Entertainment

David Rubin, Brand Development Director -- Unilever (Axe)

• Future Shock or Smooth Sailing Ahead: How Game Industry Leaders are Managing Risk

Panelists: Lee Jacobsen, Vice President of Business -- Midway Games

Dan Kelly, Vice President of Global Business Development -- THQ, Inc.

Jon Niermann, Senior VP and Managing Director Asia Publishing -- Electronic Arts

TRACK 3: Marketing Analysis: How to Read the Market Ahead of the Competition

• Startup Strategies: Where Opportunities Still Exist

Moderator: Jason Della Rocca, Program Director -- International Game Developers Association

Panelists: Erik Bethke, CEO and Founder -- Go Pets (Go Pets)

Michael Scandizzo, President -- Castaway Entertainment

Warren Spector, President -- Junction Point Studios, Inc. Gordon Walton, consultant

• Reaching the Connected Consumer: Tapping Their Personal Networks and Power of Persuasion

Panelists: Kathleen Gasperini, Senior Vice President -- Label Networks

Jillian Goldberg, Vice President Marketing -- Electronic Arts

Bill Stone, Chief Operating Officer, Amp'd Mobile

• Entertainment Business Summit: Where the Increased Integration of Music, Movies, TV and Games is Headed

Panelists: Mark Caplan, Executive Director Interactive -- Sony Pictures Consumer Products

Emily Della Maggiora, Vice President -- Nielsen Interactive Entertainment

Nick Earl, Vice President and General Manager -- Electronic Arts

Bill Kispert, Vice President of Interactive -- Universal Studios

• Profiting from Innovative Online Communities

Panelists: Greg Canessa, Group Manager, Xbox Live Arcade -- Microsoft Corporation

Michael Cassidy, CEO and Founder -- XFire, Inc.

Chip Lange, Vice President, Marketing EA Online -- Electronic Arts

Cory Ondrejka, Vice President of Product Development -- Linden Lab (Second Life)

• World View: Analysts Take Measure of the Global Marketplace

Moderator: Michael Pachter, Senior Analyst -- Wedbush Morgan Securities

Panelists: Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst -- The NPD Group (USA)

Ben Keen, Chief Analyst -- Screen Digest (UK)

Antonio Tambunan, Associate Director, Head of Asia -- Bear Steams Asia (Korea, China)

• The Wireless Revolution: Where to Seize Opportunity in the New Mobile Game Marketplace

Moderator: Eric Goldberg, Managing Director -- Crossover Technologie

Panelists: Eric Bilange, Chief Technology Officer -- MFORMA

Minard Hamilton, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing -- JAMDAT Mobile, Inc.

Paul Maglione, President -- Vivendi Universal Games Mobile

Alan Welsman, VP of European Product Management and Marketing -- InfoSpace

Midori Yuasa, General Manager and Senior Vice President -- Capcom Mobile & Interactive Media

• The New Gamemaker: Trends in Game Making and Publishing

Moderator: Ben Sawyer, Co-founder -- Digitalmill

Panelists: Amy Bendotti, Senior Recruiter -- Monolith Productions

Sarah Branscom, Manager of Human Resources -- High Moon Studios

Alan Yu, Director, Studio Artist & Repertoire -- Electronic Arts -- Los Angeles

In addition to conference sessions, twelve in-depth workshops will be offered on May 9, including:

WORKSHOP SESSIONS

• Partnering with Madison Avenue: How to Profit from the Prominence of Games

Moderator: Michael Goodman, Senior Analyst, Media & Entertainment Strategies -- Yankee Group

Panelists: Craig Allen, Chief Executive Officer -- Spark Unlimited (Call of Duty: Finest Hour)

Kevin Browne, General Manager, New Media & Franchise Development, Xbox Live -- Microsoft Corporation

Arden Doss, Managing Director -- Propaganda GEM

Louis Figueroa, Director of Business Development -- Sony Online Entertainment

Julie Shumaker, Director of Videogame Advertising -- Electronic Arts

• Casual Games Update: How New Business Models are Accelerating the Growth of Today's Game Marketplace

Moderator: John Welch, President and CEO -- PlayFirst, Inc.

Panelists: Mike Burns, CEO and Chief Creative Officer -- Fuel Industries

James Gwertzman, Director of Business Development -- PopCap Games

James Smith, Producer -- Reflexive Entertainment

Alex St. John, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder -- WildTangent, Inc.

Dave Williams, CMO and General Manager, Games -- Atom Entertainment

• New Rules in Play: Deciphering the Modern-Day Game Deal

Moderator: Joshua Grode, Partner -- Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif LLP

Panelists: Carianne Brown, Director of Motion Picture and Television Music -- Universal Music Publishing

Germaine Gioia-Horner, Vice President of Licensing -- THQ Inc.

Patrick O'Brien, Vice President Business Affairs -- Electronic Arts

Tim Riley, Worldwide Executive of Music -- Activision, Inc.

• Next-Gen Game Design: How the New Consoles Stack Up

Moderator: Trent Ward, Creative Director -- Backbone Entertainment

Panelists: Mario Coculuzzi, Senior Producer -- Ubisoft Studios -- Montreal (King Kong)

Don Daglow, President and CEO -- Stormfront Studios

Mike Kulas, President and Founder -- Volition (Saints Row)

Alain Tascan, Vice President and General Manager -- Electronic Arts -- Montreal

• Where Games Fit into the New Digital Economy

Moderator: Richard Ow, Director, Games -- The NPD Group

Panelists: Shawn Hardin, Vice President, Content Operations -- Yahoo! Media Group

Jennifer MacLean, Senior Director, Games and Entertainment -- Comcast

Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Audio -- Electronic Arts TRAX

Rich Wickham, Director, Windows Gaming Business -- Microsoft

• Games Get Up and Go: Getting the Most out of PSP, DS and Upcoming Mobile Handsets

Moderator: Matthew Bellows, General Manager & Vice President -- Floodgate Entertainment

Panelists: Guha Bala, President -- Vicarious Visions, Inc.

Greg Ballard, President and Chief Executive Officer -- Glu Mobile

Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, Director, Broadband & Gaming -- Parks Associates

Tim Harrison, Head of Games -- Vodafone Group Services

John Koller, Senior Product Manager, PSP -- Sony Online Entertainment America

• Blueprint for a Killer Title: How the Pros Do It

Moderator/Panelist: Aaron Loeb, Director of Business Development -- Planet Moon Studios

Panelists: Karthik Bala, Chief Executive Officer -- Vicarious Visions, Inc.

Matt Firor, Vice President of Development, Executive Producer, Mythic Entertainment

Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO -- BioWare, Corporation

Gonzague de Vallois, Vice President Publishing -- Gameloft

• Digital Distribution Lays Down Tracks: Where Direct-to-Consumer Game Distribution Stands Today

Moderator: Gabe Zichermann, Chief Marketing/Strategy Officer -- Boonty, Inc.

Panelists: Eric Hartness, Senior Director of Marketing -- EA Nation -- Electronic Arts

Ray Muzyka, Joint CEO -- BioWare, Corporation

Royal O'Brien, Founder/CEO -- Game xStream

Yoav Tzurya, Chief Operating Officer -- Exent Technologies

• Special Midday Sessions

Participating in one of three lunchtime sessions is Will Wright, Maxis chief designer and creator of The Sims series of games and the upcoming Spore.

About E3Expo

E3Expo is the world's premiere trade show for computer and video games and related products. The show, now in its twelfth year, is owned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. For more information, please visit www.e3expo.com or www.theesa.com.

E3Expo is a trade event, not open to the general public. Only working journalists with qualified media outlets will be eligible to register for media badges. No one under the age of 18 will be admitted, including infants. This policy is strictly enforced.

Attention Media:

E3Expo 2006 is for the first time offering early access to the show floor on Wednesday, May 10, from 9-11 a.m., to pre-registered media only (media who have submitted complete credentials to the E3Expo Media Relations Team by April 13, 2006). E3Expo strongly encourages all media to take advantage of online media registration at www.e3expo.com to complete pre-registration for the 2006 show.

--30--

CONTACT: Cohn & Wolfe for E3Expo

Ehrin Cummings

ecummings@e3expo.com