Sex in Games Featured at Women's Game Conference on October 26-27, 2005.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Game Initiative today announced that game industry veteran Brenda Brathwaite will deliver a compelling, adults-only talk on sexual content and video games at the Women's Game Conference taking place October 26 - 27, 2005 in Austin, Texas. From flirting in MUDs to hardcore sexual simulators to the emerging field of teledildonics, sex in games is nearly as old as the medium itself. Sex isn't limited to the games themselves; the infamous E3 booth babes are as much a part of sex in games as the characters that walk through game worlds. Sexual content found in video game advertising has as strong a place in the discussion as emergent sexual content in MMORPGs. To learn more about the Women's Game Conference, other sessions at the conference and how to attend visit http://www.WomensGameConference.com

The second annual Women's Game Conference focuses on women in the computer and video game industry and highlights the importance of women as consumers of games, draws attention to the contributions women bring to the game industry workforce, and creates an environment conducive to networking. The conference shares a career pavilion and technology pavilion with the Austin Game Conference. All attendees are encouraged to visit the Career Pavilion where 12 game companies are recruiting, including: Activision, BioWare Corp., Electronic Arts, Exclaim Recruiting Agency, High Voltage Software, Inc., Microsoft Game Studios, Midway, Multimedia Games, Radical Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America, THQ, and Ubisoft. Another 40 companies have exhibits in the Technology Pavilion.

Other game-industry leaders speaking at the Women's Game Conference include:

Linda Currie, Blue Fang; Nicole Willick, Activision; Tracey Rosenthal-Newsom, Harmonix; Jeb Havens, Cyberlore; Amber Dalton, PMS Clan; Amy Brady, PMS Clan/Frag Dolls; Lisa Waits, NOKIA; Heidi Perry, Play First; Lisa Sikora, Microsoft; Monika Madrid, UbiSoft; Clarinda Merripen, Cyberlore; Jennifer McLean, IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Conference sessions include:

Facilitated Networking
Recruitment and Retention of Women in the Game Industry
Team Building : How a Diverse Team Makes a Big Impact
Games for a Diverse Audience
Sex in Games
Conference Keynote: Kris Soumas VP Interactive, Lifetime TV
Increasing Marketshare: The Marketing of Games to Women
A Discussion with Professional Female Gamers
Casual Games: Reaching the Female Market
What Women Want: A discussion between female casual game consumers
  and the marketers and developers who serve them

Registration

The pre-registration rate is $165 and onsite registration is $195. Conference attendees will also have access to the Khronos Developer University, the Game Writers Conference, the TechPavilion and the Austin Game Conference, all of which run concurrently with the Women's Game Conference. Registration is available online at http://www.WomensGameConference.com/register/

The Women's Game Conference is sponsored in part by Real Arcade, LifeTime, WITI and Microsoft Research 

3 Day Conference Highlights:

-- 9 tracks, 130 speakers, 2000+ developers, 10+ companies
   recruiting

-- Microsoft / Xbox 360 will hold in-depth presentations covering
   Xbox 360Live/Marketplace, XNA studio and Next-Gen Graphics on Vista

-- IBM to Discuss Details of the Cell Processor
   George Dolbier, IBM Senior Executive Architect for Games, will
   discuss details of the Cell Processor powering the next generation
   game platforms at the Game Technology Association meeting at AGC.

-- Career Pavilion - By popular demand a career area has been added
   to the TechPavilion. For everyone at the show looking for a career
   change this is the place to go.

-- Khronos Developer University - This one day hands-on work shop
   provides up-to-the-minute training on industry standard APIs for
   embedded graphics and video processing.

-- Official Conference Party sponsored by K2 Networks Inc. -- a not
   to be missed event.

-- Sponsors and Exhibitors include:
   3Dconnexion, Inc., Academy of Art University, Activision, Alias,
   Anark Corporation, Animation Farm, Association of shareware
   professionals, ATI Technologies, Austin Community College,
   Autodesk, Avid Computer Graphics, Bigworld Pty Ltd., BioWare
   Corp., BuildForge, Inc., Business Wire, Develop Magazine, Dolby,
   Emergent Game Technologies, Ensemble Studios, Enzyme Testing Labs,
   Game instinct, Game Trust, GameDev.net, GamesIndustry.biz, GC
   Networks/Game Creation Magazine, Ginny's Printing, GoPets,
   Guildhall at SMU, Havok, Hybrid Graphics Ltd., iBeta, IBM Texas
   Credit Union, janimation Inc., K2 Networks Inc., Khronos Group,
   Mary-Margaret.com, Microsoft, Microsoft Casual Games Group,
   Microsoft Research, Midway, MobyGames.com, Mythic Entertainment,
   NCSoft, NVIDIA, Omni Interactive Media, Online Game Services,
   Inc., Power VR (PowerVR), Real Networks/Lifetime, Scaleform
   Corporation, St. Edwards University, TechExcel, THQ, The OGaming
   Network, UAT, and Versant Corporation

-- TechPavilion and Attendee Lounge - The TechPavilion showcases
   the latest tools, technologies, products and services. The Attendee
   Lounge includes comfortable couches and chairs where attendees can
   relax and network in a casual environment.

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 Game Writers 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 www.GameConferences.com