Advertising in Games West Forum Focuses on the Next Big Advertising Medium on July 28, 2005; San Francisco Conference Brings Together Ad Agencies, Game Developers and Publishers.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Game Initiative, a leading producer of conferences and events for professionals in the computer and video game industry, today announced Advertising In Games West forum taking place in San Francisco July 28, 2005. Advertising in Games Forums are the only series of events where advertisers, publishers and game makers come together to discuss the opportunities and challenges of ads in games, and explore together the most effective way to take advantage of games as a platform while benefiting the consumer.

The agenda covers examining the emergence of games as the next big marketing medium and discusses technologies in development to make rich dynamic in-game marketing a reality. The content offers a perspective from game publishers, game developers and advertisers. Advertising In Games West follows the highly successful Advertising In Games Forum held in New York City which attracted more than 250 advertising and video game professionals.

Key elements of Advertising In Games West reveals how to get feedback and data from ads in games to insure maximum ROI. Speakers include industry leaders from both the game industry and the advertising business, including: Microsoft, Ogilvy Interactive, Double Fusion, Wild tangent, Massive Incorporated, Nielsen Interactive Entertainment, United Talent Agency, Yankee Group, BlockDot, IGA Partners, Skyworks Technologies, Arnell Group and others.

Mitch Davis, CEO, Massive Inc. will address the audience in a keynote discussing how in-game marketing is impacting publishing models. Davis will also showcase new research to demonstrate the powerful brand lift that videogames offer advertisers.

Earlybird Registration for the Advertising In Games Forum is now open. Conference price is only $195 prior to July 14, 2005. More information and online registration can be found at http://www.AdvertisingInGames.com.

The day-long conference will feature six sessions:

--Business drivers - market numbers will session lay the groundwork to give the numbers needed to understand how to take advantage of the game industry today and where it is going. The session will also look at how big the market for ads in games is, and what the growth projections are.

--New platforms and technologies will examine the new technologies and platforms that enable ads to be deployed in games. Speakers will discuss the alternatives that are available for the various platforms.

--The Publisher Perspective will focus the pros and cons of different styles of ad-in-game formats and what value they bring to the brand and the game. The panel will also address the different business models and technologies available.

--Advergaming session will explore the latest technologies and methods being used by companies that swear by this unique form of branded entertainment.

--Campaign Tracking and ROI will look at effectiveness of campaigns. Participants will talk about what opportunities in-game advertising holds over other, more established, media formats.

--Developer View will acknowledge that while revenue from advertisers will be welcome, but how can the process be managed to benefit all parties -- including the consumer? The panel will examine the role that advertising will play in developing the next generation of games and how to manage the ad agency/game developer relationship.

The conference speaker lineup includes:

Guy Bendov, co-Founder, EVP, business development, Double Fusion
Brandon Berger, Senior Strategist, Digital Innovation,
 Ogilvy Interactive
Bill Clifford, Creative Director, Wild tangent
Mitchell Davis, CEO, Massive Incorporated
Michael Dowling, Managing Director, Nielsen Interactive Entertainment
Jonathan Epstein, agent, Games and Interactive Group, United
 Talent Agency
Mike Goodman, Senior Analyst, Yankee Group
Dan Ferguson, Creative Director and Co-Founder, BlockDot
Nicholas Longano, CMO Massive Inc
Darren Herman, Founder, CCO, IGA Partners
Garry Kitchen, CEO and President, Skyworks Technologies
Chad Stoller, Director of Communications Solutions, Arnell Group

Advertising in Games West is sponsored by MSN Games, Massive Inc., XFIRE, Inc., Business Wire, GameDev.net, gamesindustry.biz, MobyGames.com and Mary-Margaret.com.

About The Game Initiative

The Game Initiative is a leading producer of conferences and events for professionals in the computer and video game industry. The Initiative is chartered with the growth of the industry through events, public awareness, information and supporting programs and serves the needs of companies and people involved in producing interactive entertainment software and hardware for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. Game Initiative events include the Austin Game Conference, the Mobile Game Conference, the Women's Game Conference, The Advertising In Games Forum, The Casual Games Conference, Game Technology Association Meetings and the How to Break into the Game Industry national conference series. More information about The Game Initiative can be found at http://www.GameConference.com.