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NLGD Festival of Games

Mayor of Utrecht beaten at Pong by, slightly unfairly, its creator Ralph Bear.

UTRECHT, The Netherlands - June 18, 2008 The NLGD today announced that the NLGD Festival of Games officially opened with a heated match of Pong on a classic system from the 1960’s. Ralph Bear, father of the game industry and the creator of Pong beat the mayor of Utrecht, the Netherlands, in a fast two to nothing victory exciting the crowd. The NLGD Festival of Games then began with a keynote from the industry legend where he talked about the birth of TV games and inspired the crowd to be innovative in the way they approach creating games.

Margaret Robertson former editor of EDGE magazine followed Baer’s keynote with a talk on the progress the game industry has made over its first 40 years, compared to the film, and photography industries. The keynotes are the first of more than 75 lectures at this year’s NLGD, which is focused on the growing Dutch industry for games.

“The first day of the conference has set the tone for an exciting lineup over the next two days,” said Seth van der Meer, chairman of the NLGD. “Our goal is to show the world that The Netherlands is a key part of the global game industry and our contributions are increasing as we continue to grow.”

Keynotes and lectures scheduled for June 19th include Ben Sawyer, Chaim Gingold, Andreas Lange, Sean Kauppinen and Jussi Holopainen.

About NLGD

The NLGD Foundation is a European cross-disciplinary platform, the European hub to synergy, vision and inspiration in the games industry. The main goal of the NLGD Foundation is to stimulate the Dutch games industry and to position this industry internationally. In order to accomplish this, the NLGD Foundation offers room to all disciplines within the games industry that work either directly or indirectly with serious- or entertainment games. Included herein are publishers, developer, but also research organizations, educational institutions and trade and industry. Another goal of the NLGD Foundation is therefore to bring together various perspectives on games. With its activities the NLGD Foundation attracts visitors from all over the world.

About Festival of Games

The Festival of Games is one of the largest professional game festivals in Europe; it sets the stage for the fast growing European game market.

The Festival of Games consists of a main thought leader conference, workshops, a professional expo with a career fair and a serious connection. The event is a platform and a meeting point for the European games community. The festival harnesses Europe's creative power and gives an insight in the unique European approach. Industry, academic and business leaders share and combine their opinions and visions.

The NLGD Festival of Games takes place until June 22, 2008, in Utrecht, The Netherlands. For more information, visit the NLGD website at: www.nlgd.nl

About NLGD

The NLGD Foundation is a European cross-disciplinary platform, the European hub to synergy, vision and inspiration in the games industry. The main goal of the NLGD Foundation is to stimulate the Dutch games industry and to position this industry internationally. In order to accomplish this, the NLGD Foundation offers room to all disciplines within the games industry that work either directly or indirectly with serious- or entertainment games. Included herein are publishers, developer, but also research organizations, educational institutions and trade and industry. Another goal of the NLGD Foundation is therefore to bring together various perspectives on games. With its activities the NLGD Foundation attracts visitors from all over the world.

About Festival of Games

The Festival of Games is one of the largest professional game festivals in Europe; it sets the stage for the fast growing European game market.

The Festival of Games consists of a main thought leader conference, workshops, a professional expo with a career fair and a serious connection. The event is a platform and a meeting point for the European games community. The festival harnesses Europe's creative power and gives an insight in the unique European approach. Industry, academic and business leaders share and combine their opinions and visions.

The NLGD Festival of Games takes place until June 22, 2008, in Utrecht, The Netherlands. For more information, visit the NLGD website at: www.nlgd.nl

Alessandra Van Otterlo, Event Manager, NLGD

+31 612 42 68 84

alessandra@nlgd.nl

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