MIT Sloan to Host 5th Annual Business in Gaming Conference Highlighting the Business Side of the Video Gaming Industry

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Fifth Annual MIT Sloan Business in Gaming Conference will bring together leading gaming industry executives, local entrepreneurs and MBA students to share insights and best business practices on how to run a gaming company and make great games. The conference will be held at the renowned MIT Media Lab on Thursday, March 21, 2013. The conference has been scheduled the day previous to PAX East to make it convenient for gaming industry people to attend.

The lineup of speakers includes:

Ted Price, CEO and founder, Insomniac Games
Christopher Weaver, founder, Bethesda Softworks
Michael Worosz, VP of Corporate Development and Strategy, ZelnickMedia
Cindy Au, Head of Community, Kickstarter
Eric Yeager, Games on Demand Business Lead, Microsoft

Topics to be discussed at this year’s conference will include:

E-Sports and Competitive Gaming
The tremendous growth in the e-sports scene in the past two years has sparked a revolution in game developers, gaming leagues and media organizations. Join a conversation with industry pioneers to better understand its evolution and future.
Big Data and Gaming
Industry-leading executives will discuss how gaming companies are using analytics to shape the next generation of games and the future of the gaming experience.
Effects of New Distribution Channels in Gaming Business Models
Online games sales are expected to surpass retail sales in 2013. This panel will explore how gamers, developers and publishers are determining how to best distribute their games to customers.
Funding Your Game Company
As investors and publishers become more risk averse, securing funding has become more challenging. As a result, developers have turned to crowd funding and alternative fundraising. Learn about new and successful funding opportunities for your next project in this panel featuring preeminent innovators and industry leaders.

For more information or to register for the MIT Sloan Business in Gaming Conference, please visit www.mitbig.com.

About the MIT Sloan Business in Gaming Conference
MIT BIG was started in 2009 by a group of MIT Sloan MBA students. With little but a passion for video games and a desire to serve the gaming business community, they pulled together a memorable event that included Ken Levine as keynote speaker. The conference has been held annually at the beginning of spring for the last four years. In its brief history, the Business in Gaming conference has featured speakers from EA, Playdom, Irrational Games, Turbine, Harmonix and Bethesda Softworks, among others. Panel discussions and keynote addresses have covered a wide range of topics, including the implications of microtransactions on sales, innovative approaches to marketing and how to build and launch a gaming startup.