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May 2017 Game Industry Events Calendar

To help you plan attendance for this month’s game industry conferences, conventions, festivals and other events, we post a consolidated list of events each month. View the complete May event list below!

Click here for the main calendar view.

May 1-2: GamesBeat (Berkeley, USA)
1-5: Room Escape Conference & Tour (Niagra Falls, USA)
3-5: Experiential Marketing Summit (Chicago, USA)
4: LA Games Conference (Los Angeles, USA)
4-6: Game Access (Brno, Czechia)
5-7: Austi-Con (Austin, USA)
8-9: Unite Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)
8-11: GPU Technology Conference (GTC) (San Jose, USA)
9-10: GamiFIN Conference (Pori, Finland)
10-14: Tokyo Sandbox (Tokyo, Japan)
12-14: ChupacabraCon 4 (Round Rock, USA)
16-18: Casual Connect Asia (Singapore)
18-19: DevGAMM Moscow (Moscow, Russia)
18-19: 3rd Biz-eSports Summit (Los Angeles, USA)
22-23: Digital Dragons (Krakow, Poland)
22-26: Animex (Middlesbrough, UK)
22-03: Norwich Gaming Festival (Norwich, UK)
25-28: MomoCon (Atlanta, USA)
25-28: PlayX4 (Gyeonggi-do, South Korea)
25-28: Phoenix Comicon (Phoenix, USA)
25-28: Southwest Video Game Showcase (Phoenix, USA)
26-29: KublaCon (San Francisco, USA)

This list is obtained from the main calendar. Did we miss an event? Let us know!

San Jose Shows Its Geek Love for Silicon Valley Comic Con

From Mercurynews.com: San Jose let its geek flag fly — literally — as the Silicon Valley Comic Con banner was raised inside the City Hall rotunda Tuesday afternoon in advance of Steve Wozniak‘s pop culture/science extravaganza this weekend.

Woz was there for the ceremony wearing a comfortable “Star Trek” hoodie, and much to his delight, most of the City Council was decked out in Trek gear, too. “I don’t know what comic con in the United States, the City Council comes out and dresses up in cosplay and helps make it an enjoyable event,” said Wozniak, who later accepted a commendation from the City Council.

Not too many cities have a councilman with his own Captain America shield, either. But hey, if you can’t be a pop culture nerd in Silicon Valley, where can you do it? “I have always loved San Jose,” said Wozniak, who later accepted a commendation during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
“All of the Silicon Valley work, all of our engineering, it all involves a large amount of fun and play. Geeks are that way.” Councilwomen Dev Davis and Magdalena Carrasco wore red uniforms, the color of Starfleet engineers — the people who get things done.

Of course, in Trek stories, the “redshirts” have a bad habit of getting killed off. Councilman Raul Peralez, perhaps showing his intellectual side, was in a blue top like Mr. Spock. Johnny Khamis, Chappie Jones, Tam Nguyen and Lan Diep matched Woz by wearing gold shirts like Capt. Kirk.

“It is a mini-mayor system, after all,” Diep joked.

Read more at Mercurynews.com

Facebook Developer Conference Moves to San Jose For More Space

From ABC7News.com: Downtown San Jose is taking Facebook away from San Francisco. Everywhere you go around the Convention Center, you can see the footprint of Facebook — a new reality for the capital of Silicon Valley.

San Jose welcomed thousands of people to one of the biggest developers conferences in the world on Tuesday. This year’s F8 Conference is booming with talent from around the world, with a 30 percent increase of international attendees compared to last year.

A huge line formed for the keynote address by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Sessions include topics like understanding gaming video on Facebook, Facebook analytics for apps and delivering real time AI in the palm of your hand. AI, or artificial intelligence, is a big focus in the tech world.

“When you’re talking about artificial intelligence, it’s not just like chatbot. And have those self-driving cars and that dilemma, should I protect the driver or should I protect the pedestrian. So, lots of questions are going to be asked in the next few years and we’re excited to be a part of it,” Movile spokesperson Victor Batista said.

While Facebook’s stock continues to rise, the Menlo Park company has faced criticism over fake news and the video of a murder that was uploaded over the weekend.

“I think they’re working on addressing those issues. It’s natural, when there are that many people on the platform, to have these things come up. But I think they’re trying to work on it,” Octane AI’s Megan Berry said.

F8 isn’t the only big event moving south. Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference, with 5,000 attendees, is moving here in June.

Read more at ABC7News.com

Intel Developer Forum Cancelled For Good

Earlier today Intel announced its successful Intel Developer Forum events would be ending this year with the existing 2017 event cancelled:

Intel has evolved its event portfolio and decided to retire the IDF program moving forward. Thank you for nearly 20 great years with the Intel Developer Forum! Intel has a number of resources available on intel.com, including a Resource and Design Center with documentation, software, and tools for designers, engineers, and developers. As always, our customers, partners, and developers should reach out to their Intel representative with questions.

Over the past few years, we at Events for Gamers have had the pleasure of attending these events. At these events you meet a lot of great people both in the hardware industry, but also in the game industry. We thought it was a fantastic mix, so will be sad to see it end.

For more about the IDF and why it was cancelled, Anandtech.com has details of their discussion with officials at Intel.

“Prey” Preview Roadshow in San Francisco

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This week, movie theater chain Alama Drafthouse Cinema, iam8bit and GameStop teamed up with Bethesda Softworks, Arkane Studios to bring the latest version of their upcoming first-person action-adventure game, Prey, to the media and their fandom. The San Francisco stop represents one of four stops on the “Influences of Prey” game-and-a-movie roadshow, which also include Austin, New York and Los Angeles. We’re taking a look at the San Francisco stop.

The Event:

The event occupied a large room past the main lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse, in the foyer leading to the theatres. But that was a hallway and an adjoining room, which solidly fit about two dozen high-end gaming PCs with headphones and a choice of keyboard or joypad for interfacing with the game. In the interior room, behind the row of a very mellow bar which was going to get jam-packed once the gaming public was let in. Appetizers were unobtrusively served against a wall at the far end of the barroom.

After the lower-key media portion of the event, which concluded with a Q/A session with Arkane Studios lead designer Ricardo Bare, the gaming public queue was let in. Posters, notebooks and drink tickets were handed out as attendees filed in. In the hallway, gamers had a chance to apply to win a custom-skinned Xbox 1 or PlayStation 4 console by filling out a tongue-in-cheek psychology or employee quiz, which plays a part in the first act of the game.

Between the food, drink, meet-and-greet, a photobooth and mini-games, one might think there would be enough time to actually play the game. In fact, players had about 2 hours of game time before the darkly campy 1997 science fiction flick (and a source of influence for Prey), Starship Troopers, started in the adjacent movie theatre. At some points, the lines to play the opening parts of Prey on the PC were stacked several people deep. While the movie tickets were separate from the Prey community event, it seemed that the majority of the folks attending opted in to see the movie too.

The Game

As the event itself alludes, the game is a tip of the hat to many different pop culture sci-fi sources. Taking place in a re-imagined world of Prey, in a decidedly futuristic version of 2032, the protagonist Morgan Yu (who can be either male or female), quickly lands in a world of hurt. Recruited by his brother, from his high-rise apartment to TranStar’s research labs prior to joining him in space at the Talos 1 station, the game’s hero quickly discovers the world is not quite what it seems, starting with the realization he’s living in a simulation on Talos 1 and this new-and-far-less-pleasant world is under assault by the shape-shifting, spidery Typhon.

Further into the game, deeper into the lab environment where this demo takes place, Morgan has access to a greater variety of weaponry and items called neuromods. Neuromods provide the means to hack into various items, recycle alien organs into more useful items, and so on. Neuromods go hand-in-glove with the skill trees, which allow the players to develop their skills with their pick-ups.

The weapons at this stage of the game have evolved quite a bit beyond the the wrench Morgan starts the game with, into a range of weapons, from a pistol, shotgun, crossbrow, and in the “fun but useful” category, the GLOO cannon, which shoots hardening glue in quantity that has all sorts of uses.

As in the start of the game, this selection of the game is also a sort of sandbox, which allows players to take more than one pathway. No strictly linear game play here. Whether Morgan uses a mod to hack a way in through an open door or finds a well-hidden hole in the wall, players are offered a wealth of options to solving their problems, which should add to the replayability.

Expect a demo of Mogan Yu’s mind-bending misadventures in space coming up soon to download and play in advance of the game’s launch. Prey is scheduled to for worldwide launch Friday, May 5, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Microsoft Details Xbox FanFest for E3 2017

From IGN.com: Tickets for Xbox FanFest: E3 2017 will go on sale this Wednesday, April 19, Microsoft announced today.

The three-day event will grant 500 people entry to Microsoft’s E3 press briefing, which will be held on Sunday, June 11, at 2pm PT, according to Xbox Wire. FanFest ticket holders will also have the opportunity to get hands-on with Project Scorpio and upcoming games at a private event on June 12.
Xbox Project Scorpio Unveil Confirmed for E3 2017
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The first 400 tickets will go on sale April 19 on a first-come, first-serve basis. They’ll be available online in several waves throughout the day, with the first beginning at 6am PT. The remaining 100 tickets will be offered through various promotions and giveaways. Microsoft notes you must be 21 or older with an Xbox Live gamertag to complete the transaction.

Read more at IGN.com

Registration Open for Tizen Developer Conference 2017 (Press Release)

Samsung, a member of the Tizen Project and sponsor of the Tizen Developer Conference (TDC) 2017, has announced that registration for TDC 2017 is now open. The event will be held from May 16 to May 17 at Hilton Union Square Hotel in San Francisco.

Now in its fifth year, the Tizen Developer Conference brings together Tizen developers, app developers, open source enthusiasts, platform designers, IoT device manufacturers, hardware and software vendors, ISVs, operators, OEMs, and anyone engaged in the Tizen ecosystem.

Centered around the theme “Ready to Connect! Get Involved!”, TDC 2017 offers an excellent opportunity to explore the new and exciting possibilities Tizen is creating in the Internet of Things era.

This year’s conference will focus on Tizen platform and device and application development through a series of technical presentations. In addition, it will also emphasize how Tizen can enhance IoT devices through a hands-on lab and various showcases.

Registration is now open via the official TDC 2017 website, where developers, media and anyone interested in Tizen can also find more information. Please follow the link to take advantage of the savings of Early Bird registration, which runs through April 14th PST.

GamesBeat embraces our first love: PC gaming

From VentureBeat: PC gaming has never died. It will likely never die. It’s strong. It’s growing. And we at GamesBeat are going to focus more on the original gaming platform.

We’re reinvirogating our PC Gaming Channel. Reporter Jeff Grubb is the speartip of our charge into the world’s most diverse platform. And we’re not going to just cover news about games — we’re going to dive into how people make these works of art: how they come up with ideas and designs, how they figure out mechanics and which tools to use, how they sign with publishers and build communities, how they support their games with postrelease content, and more.

We’ll be talking to designers about how they deal with animation, how they deal with lighting, and how they customize game engines for their unique creations. We’ll talk to analysts about the best ways to monetize, and we’ll see what leading marketers have to say about promoting your game. We’ll talk to social media marvels about spreading word of mouth on Twitter, Twitch, Facebook, and more. And we’ll talk to those who’ve had success on Steam — and how to learn from their lessons.

Read more at VentureBeat.com

PAX Unplugged Badges on Sale May 3 (Press Release)

PHILADELPHIA – April 4, 2017 – Tickets for the inaugural PAX Unplugged, the analog-oriented extension to the international line-up of PAX events, taking place November 17-19, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, will go on sale Wednesday, May 3, 2017. Single day badges will cost $25, three day passes for will be available for $60 and Sunday Kids badges (for 6-12 year olds) will be $10 each.

PAX Unplugged will provide the same experience that has entertained millions of PAX attendees, but with a focus on tabletop, card and board gaming. Attendees will have the opportunity to witness reveals of upcoming titles, play the most hotly anticipated unreleased games, participate in tournaments and go to panels headed by the industry’s top influencers and creative minds.

While PAX Unplugged will focus on tabletop gaming, videogames featuring board or card game elements will also be at the expo.

“I played my first game of Dungeons & Dragons at six years old, and never looked back,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder, Penny Arcade. “PAX Unplugged will give us a chance to let the thriving tabletop area of the PAX shows breathe a bit – and take an opportunity to celebrate the incredible, ongoing renaissance of the form.”

Game developers interested in exhibiting at PAX Unplugged 2017 can contact the PAX Unplugged team. Working journalists and content creators on YouTube and Twitch interested in attending PAX Unplugged to produce coverage of the event can apply for a media badge here.

For additional information, sign up for the newsletter, follow PAX via Twitter and like the events on Facebook.

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PAX

PAX or Penny Arcade Expo is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. First held in Seattle in 2004, PAX has nearly doubled in size each successive year, with PAX Prime 2014 selling out of tickets in a matter of minutes. Connecting the world’s leading game publishers with their most avid and influential fans, PAX expanded with a second show in Boston in 2010 and a third in San Antonio in 2015, making it the three largest gaming shows in North America. The first international PAX was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2013. In 2017, Penny Arcade announced PAX Unplugged, its first tabletop focused show, to be held in Philadelphia.

Penny Arcade

Penny Arcade is a web comic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. With over 3.5 million readers, it is the most popular and longest running gaming web comic online. Penny Arcade is also responsible for the Child’s Play Charity, the Penny Arcade gaming expos (PAX) in Seattle, Boston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Melbourne, multiple videogames based on the brand, and multiple online video series.

ReedPOP

ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture world. ReedPOP is dedicated to celebrations of popular culture throughout the globe that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) West, East, South, Australia and Unplugged, Emerald City Comicon (ECCC), BookCon, BookExpo, Oz Comic-Con, Comic Con India, Paris Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, Star Trek: Mission New York, TwitchCon, ComplexCon and more. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan-based group of professionals uniquely qualified to serve those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, India and Australia.

Media Contact

Kyle MacGregor / Chris Toomey
Stride PR for Penny Arcade
kyle@stridepr.com / chris@stridepr.com

April 2017 Game Industry Events Calendar

To help you plan attendance for this month’s game industry conferences, conventions, festivals and other events, we post a consolidated list of events each month. View the complete April event list below!

Click here for the main calendar view.

April 30-1: EGX Rezzed (London, UK)
31-2: WonderCon (Anaheim, USA)
1: Mars VR Gaming Summit (Olympus Mons Convention Center, Mars)
1-2: Facts (Gent, Belgium)
1-2: CT Gamer Con (Uncasville, USA)
1-2: Capital Gaming Expo (Nepean, Canada)
1-2: QGCon (Los Angeles, USA)
5-6: eSCon Europe (Europe)
6-8: EVE Fanfest (Reykjavik, Iceland)
7: GameDev Day (Tallinn, Estonia)
7-9: PixelFest (Norfolk, USA)
8: Intel Buzz Workshop London (London, UK)
8: Sacramento Indie Arcade (Sacramento, USA)
14-15: Vector (Richmond, USA)
14-15: VRLA Expo (Los Angeles, USA)
14-16: East Africa Gaming Convention (Nairobi, Kenya)
20-22: Reboot Develop (Mlini, Croatia)
20-22: VR Reality Show (London, UK)
22-23: The D8 Summit (Ottawa, Canada)
24-26: Quo Vadis (Berlin, Germany)
26-29: A MAZE Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
28-30: HavenCon (Austin, USA)
29-30: GX Australia (Sydney, Australia)
29-30: Tehran Game Convention (Tehran, Iran)

This list is obtained from the main calendar. Did we miss an event? Let us know!

SVVR 2017 Shines Global Spotlight on Latest in VR Technology and Entertainment (Press Release)

More than 100 Companies to Showcase at SVVR Including Immersion, Oculus, Altar, Atcarta, BioflightVR, Deepoon, Gala360, Noys, Redrock Biometrics, and More; SVVR Announces Expansion into Asia

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 29, 2017 – The fourth annual Silicon Valley Virtual Reality (SVVR) Conference and Expo kicks off today in what has become the premier event for the global virtual reality (VR) industry.  More than 100 companies from North America, Europe and Asia will gather to demonstrate and discuss the latest in VR innovation, from new developments in content creation hardware and software, streaming technology and consumer devices; to breakthrough vertical VR applications in health/science, education/training, real estate, security; new games and entertainment experiences; and more.  SVVR runs today through Friday, March 31 at the San Jose Convention Center.

 

To better meet the needs of the growing international VR industry, SVVR also announced its expansion into Asia with SVVR Japan and SVVR Korea.  More details to be announced soon at www.svvr.com.

 

“SVVR started as the first and continues to be the largest VR meetup community, and today is the event of choice for industry insiders worldwide looking to showcase, discover and discuss the latest advancements and opportunities in all applications of VR,” said Karl Kratz, co-founder of SVVR.  “From content creators to production tools, wearable devices, haptics technology and more, the companies participating in SVVR are at the forefront of driving innovation in VR which is so necessary to ensure industry growth.”

 

Some of the news highlights delivered by companies participating in SVVR included:

 

  • AltspaceVR: AltspaceVR’s new framework for development provides the fastest way to build shared virtual reality (VR) experiences. It includes an expanded library of assets and the ability for VR web applications to access native game engine features. Developers can create content using standard web technologies, host it anywhere on the web, and have it instantly available to people in AltspaceVR.

 

  • Baobab: Animation pioneer, Baobab Studios, is leading the merge between Hollywood and Virtual Reality with their award-winning and Emmy-nominated VR animation INVASION!starring Ethan Hawke and second interactive animation  ASTEROIDS! starring Elizabeth Banks. The producing team of Roth/Kirschenbaum Films is turning the characters and story of INVASION! into a feature film and the studios’ third animation, Rainbow Crowtheir most powerful experience to-date with a diverse cast of all-star talentwill premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival next month.
  • ImmerVision: The VR industry faces major challenges to deliver on user mass adoption. ImmerVision is collaborating with product leaders to bring 360° devices that are easy to capture and share vivid, life like VR content across multiple platforms – enabling the vision of mass use of VR.
  • Kenzan Studios: Kenzan Studios launches Kenzan Arena, the first cutting edge VR playground that has profitability in its DNA. Developed in collaboration with Noitom, the free roaming playground combines both physical and virtual objects and will be the biggest of its kind. Kenzan Arena will launch with four Kenzan Studios Original games including a multiplayer shooter and a multiplayer escape room.
  • Noitom: Over the last year, since debuting Project Alice at SVVR 2016, Noitom has made many advances with the system, testing it with many projects and services all over the world. The company has gained critical experience in education, product display and various verticals that have helped it to fine-tune and make it even better. This year, the biggest steps Noitom has taken is to incorporate its Hi5 VR Glove into Project Alice and with the help of its partners, created a very complete software platform that offers a solid VR solution. About Project Alice: http://noitom.com/index.php/solutions/project-alice.
  • SuperData Research: Stephanie Llamas, vice president of research and strategy, and head of VR/AR strategy at SuperData Research, shared findings, including that the rise in consumer adoption of VR devices is expected to drive revenue to $40B by 2020.  As a featured speaker at the SVVR Expo, Stephanie will present more findings from “The Virtual Consumer,” a state of the consumer VR industry analysis from SuperData, that provides detailed data on consumers, their sentiments, and behaviors across the VR landscape.
  • Tequila Works: The Invisible Hours is a complex, murder mystery VR science thriller, which allows players to freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling old mansion, in order to untangle a dark truth. Developed by Madrid-based Tequila Works in partnership with GameTrust, The Invisible Hours sets the stage for a deeply immersive theater VR experience.

 

SVVR is an industry-focused event for all verticals in VR, bringing together top names in VR research, engineering, development, entertainment and enterprise services to discuss the latest trends, exhibit innovations and showcase the future of VR. This year’s keynotes will be delivered by Nonny de la Peña, CEO of Emblematic Group, Tony Parisi, Head of VR and AR at Unity Technologies, Kent Bye, host of Voices of VR podcast, and Rikard Steiber, SVP of Virtual Reality, HTC.

 

For further information and assets, please visit https://www.zebrapartners.net/svvr2017/.

 

About SVVR

SVVR is the biggest VR industry event of the year where the VR community from around the world and across all verticals, gather in Silicon Valley each Spring to unveil the latest innovations, connect with leaders and build business relationships with top brands looking to grow engagement through VR. SVVR started as the very first VR industry event. Passionate about VR, the SVVR team, including original co-founders Karl Krantz and Nana Usui, have been facilitating a community of VR professionals through Meetups and industry events since 2013.

 

For more information on SVVR, visit www.svvr.com, and follow SVVR on Twitter and Facebook.

AMAZICON Teams Up With Gamer Con to Hold It’s 5th Annual Convention April 7-9TH (Press Release)

Amazicon, the area’s premier sci-fi, comics and collectibles show, is teaming up with Gamer Con for a three day public event in Wilmington Delaware on April 7th, 8th and 9th 2017

Wilmington, DE – (Today) – The annual Delaware convention Amazicon will be held at The Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Wilmington on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 7th through 9thand this year will be debuting their collaboration with Gamer Con, bringing those in attendance the benefit of two shows in one weekend. Now in its 5th year, the event will feature vendors, special guests, arcades, TV/Movie cars, industry panels, tournaments, a cosplay costume contest and more.

Attendees will have the chance to see numerous celebrity guests from TV, Movies, Broadway and the comic and pop culture industry who will be on hand all weekend signing autographs and speaking at panels. Several popular Hollywood cars that have been featured in motion pictures and on TV series will be on display as well.

Multiple vendor rooms will be set up on each floor of the convention show with many items available for purchase such as collectibles, games and comics, and photo ops with special guests, star cars, the Easter Bunny and photo booths will be available throughout the event. Magicians, cosplayers and musicians will be providing additional entertainment, and there will be hourly door prizes announced. Attendees can also play video games and arcades, and enter gaming tournaments to win prizes.

An after-party will take place on Saturday night and will feature food, entertainment, a cosplay costume contest and the annual Amazicon charity auction to benefit the Families of SMA, an organization dedicated to raising money for research for the childhood disease spinal muscular atrophy. Many vendors and companies will be providing donated items for the auction which has raised money and awareness for SMA every year.

ABOUT AMAZICON: An annual convention that continues to grow bigger and better every year, Amazicon is an event put on for the fans, by the fans.

ABOUT GAMER CON: A semi-annual event with an exponentially growing following, Gamer Con is the greater Philadelphia region’s top gaming convention.

AMAZICON 5

April 7th-9th 2017

The Doubletree Hotel by Hilton

4727 Concord Pike Wilmington, DE 19803

Friday 4-10pm, Saturday 10am-7pm (After Party 8:30pm-1am), Sunday 11am-5pm

Advanced tickets are $15 @day or $35 for a 3-day pass; $20 and $45 at the door

To purchase tickets or for more information please visit http://amazicon.net/tickets.html or http://njgamercon.com/tickets.html

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