Wednesday, March 31 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM Session A: Internet Gaming - Understanding the Massively Multiplayer Universe The massively multiplayer game universe is growing into a full-fledged digital society. There are now millions of individuals online, committed, involved and addicted to one gaming or social universe or another. When it started – nearly decades ago – the universe was a powerful Net force in text-only formats. Now in today’s advanced graphical broadband universe game and role playing worlds are attracting hundreds of thousands each. With these numbers and the progressive expansion of the technology, the possibilities of how people relate to each other online will be endless. Developers will be able to reach and empower target player segments with greater success and offer people unlimited choice of worlds to live and experience ideas, creativity and fun. Matthew S. Bromberg, Vice President and General Manager of AOL Games, America Online, Inc. Mike Goslin, Vice President & Managing Director, Disney Online Jason Bell, Executive Vice President, Turbine Entertainment Software Keith McCurdy, Interactive and Online Industry Veteran and Consultant Joshua Hong, co-founder and CEO, K2 Network Patricia Fry, Global Offering Executive, Digital Content Creation (DCC) and Online Games, IBM Corp. Kim Pallister, Technical Marketing Manager and Processor Evangelist, Software and Solutions Group, Intel Corp., Moderator Patricia (Patty) Fry is the Global Offering Executive for Digital Content Creation (DCC) and Online Games for IBM's Digital Media Emerging Business Opportunity. She leads IBM's efforts to craft meaningful solutions for the DCC and Online Games markets by applying IBM products, services and advanced technologies, together with products from industry specific independent software vendors, to the market's requirements. Patty was a founding member of the IBM Corporate Strategy Online Games Task Force, which was formed in 2002 to analyze the online games marketplace. Digital Media is one of the key strategic growth areas for IBM globally. IBM has made a multi-year, multi-million dollar investment in Digital Media products, services and alliances, in addition to building a focused team of hundreds of people. Patty has been a contributing member of this team since its inception. Prior to joining the Digital Media Emerging Business Opportunity team, Patty held a number of sales, marketing and management positions for IBM, including: solutions executive for the media & entertainment industry; principal for systems integration for IBM Global Services focused on the automotive, health, government, utility, and insurance industries; and client manager for a major utility company. Upon joining IBM, she held other sales and technical sales support roles, focused in the scientific and technical computing, public sector, higher education and utility industries. Prior to joining IBM, Patty was a software engineer at the former Hughes Aircraft Company. Patty is an Associate Member of the Visual Effects Society. Patty holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Southern California. She speaks conversational French. Matthew S. Bromberg, Vice President and General Manager of AOL Games, America Online, Inc.: As Vice President and General Manager of AOL Games, Matthew Bromberg is responsible for all gaming related activities across AOL Inc., including the AOL service, leading Web properties, broadband, and devices. AOL Games provides programming, services, and marketing for web, PC, and console games for AOL members and game fans on the Web, with a focus on creating enhanced, high-speed exclusives for AOL Broadband members. Under Mr. Bromberg’s direction, AOL Games has introduced a series of new initiatives that bring AOL members exclusive content and maximize their overall gaming experience while delivering valuable promotional and marketing benefits to game industry partners. Previously, Mr. Bromberg was Vice President and General Manager of AOL’s Moviefone, the world's largest movie show time, information and ticketing service, during which time Moviefone’s consumer usage grew by more than 300%. Prior to joining AOL in 1999, Mr. Bromberg was at CMP Media, where he served as Publisher and General Manager of Techweb Network, a leading network of information technology sites, and led Business Development for Informationweek magazine. A Harvard Law School graduate, Mr. Bromberg began his media career at American Lawyer Media, where he was Deputy Publisher of American Lawyer Magazine, as well as Director of Sales and Marketing for Lexis Counsel Connect, a pioneering online service for lawyers. Ken Goldstein, Executive Vice President and Managing Director : Ken Goldstein is executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online, the business unit of the Walt Disney Internet Group that produces the No. 1 entertainment destination for kids and families on the World Wide Web. Responsible for all creative, technical, marketing, and financial initiatives surrounding the presence of the Disney brand on the Internet, Ken oversees development of the corporate site www.disney.com; the highly successful subscription service Disney's Blast; Disney’s Toontown Online; all of the divisional Web sites of The Walt Disney Company; the celebrated venue for tools and information www.familyfun.com and www.movies.com, a leading movie information service offering movie reviews, trailers, listings and other content for movie fans. Prior to joining Disney in November 1998, Ken served as Brøderbund Software's vice president of entertainment and founding general manager of the company's Red Orb Entertainment division. Commercially and critically acclaimed titles on the Red Orb label included "Riven: The Sequel to Myst," by Cyan Productions, "Warlords III," by the Strategic Studies Group (SSG), "The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time," by Presto Studios, and "Prince of Persia 3D," by the Red Orb Entertainment Studio. Before the formation of Red Orb Entertainment at Brøderbund, Ken was responsible for all aspects of development on the highly acclaimed Carmen Sandiego series, leading the product family from aggregate worldwide sales of 2.5 million units in 1992 to over 6 million units in 1997, while supervising brand development through three television series, a motion picture deal, and broad expansion of an international merchandising program. Other award-winning titles his teams at Brøderbund produced include "In the 1st Degree," "Alien Tales," and "The Last Express." Prior to joining Brøderbund, Ken worked as a designer/producer at Philips Interactive Media and Cinemaware Corporation, and for several years as a screenwriter and television executive. Ken currently sits on the board of directors for Hathaway Children and Family Services, a non-profit organization that provides services for abused, neglected and emotionally disturbed children. He has been a volunteer with Free Arts for Abused Children and Olive Crest Treatment Centers and served on the board of trustees of Full Circle Programs, a residential treatment and family services agency. A graduate of Yale University, he is very active in children’s welfare issues. Keith McCurdy - Interactive and Online Industry Veteran and Consultant: Keith McCurdy has had a 15-year career in the interactive and multi-media industry where he has held numerous executive positions in product development and online gaming at the industry’s leading company, Electronic Arts. In addition, Mr. McCurdy has also been the CEO of an exciting and innovative Internet start-up backed by blue chip investors. Mr. McCurdy is an advisory board member and consultant to several companies in the online gaming space including Infinium Labs, Inc. (broadband gaming platform) and Stream Theory, Inc. (electronic software delivery for games on demand). Mr. McCurdy also consults to leading interactive entertainment, Internet, and wireless companies on online gaming business strategies and other business initiatives. Customers include Leap Wireless, Viacom-MTV, Electronic Arts, and several technology start-up companies. Previously, Mr. McCurdy was the CEO of Experts-Exchange, a venture backed Internet start-up in the enterprise knowledge collaboration field, with a customer list that included GE Capital, Oracle, AltaVista, and IDG. Under Mr. McCurdy’s leadership Experts-Exchange became the largest collaborative community of professionals on the Internet with over 600k registered members. Prior to this experience, Mr. McCurdy was a 10-year veteran of Electronic Arts (EA), the world’s largest and most successful interactive software company. Over the years he held a number of positions at EA, including Vice President of Product Development, Vice President of Online, and Vice President of Technology. Mr. McCurdy founded EA's Online Division and played a lead role in the company’s strategy and transition onto the Internet. He led the product development, business model creation, and online operations of the first successful online game business, Ultima Online (over $100 mil. in revenue to date). As Vice President of Technology, Mr. McCurdy played key roles in the company’s M&A due diligence efforts, studio product development management, and new platform development strategies. Mr. McCurdy also was instrumental in re-organizing large product development organizations, led the creation of multiple new teams and projects within the company, and led product teams that generated over $250 million in revenue. Joshua Hong - As co-founder and CEO of K2 Network, Joshua has helped define vision for broadband-based, massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) service for broadband service providers in North America since 2001. Joshua had joined Kali in 1999, the maker of the world’s first network-based multiplayer game system, as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Growth. During his tenure, Joshua had helped manage the global multiplayer online game system of 350 servers in 54 countries, serving over 350,000 registered users. Joshua worked briefly as an M&A investment banker in the telecommunication, media and technology group at Deutsche Bank. He had also spent 6 years at Accenture as a management and technology consultant. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business with concentration in finance, accounting and international business, and B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. He currently serves as an officer-member of the board of directors for the BCD Forum. Jason Bell joins Turbine Entertainment Software as executive vice president, bringing an extensive background in video game development and executive management to the company. As Executive Vice President, Bell oversees all operations of Turbine’s West Coast studio and manages the company’s expansion into Asian-Pacific markets. Before joining Turbine, Bell was senior vice president of creative development for Atari, Inc. (previously Infogrames), where he oversaw the overall quality, competitiveness and delivery of a portfolio of Atari's' triple-A titles. In addition, Bell was responsible for coordinating the North American and global launches of numerous titles, managed a portfolio of innovative mass-market products in development and was in charge of Atari's multi-player online gaming products and strategy. Bell joined Infogrames as senior vice president of publishing in 2000 and was responsible for the company’s three West Coast studios. Prior to Atari, Bell was a senior producer at Electronic Arts where he was responsible for product design, service quality and development planning for several multi-player and online games. His earlier game industry experience included three years with Virginia-based Kesmai Studios, where he held various positions, including Creative Director and Executive Producer. During his time at Kesmai, Bell contributed to the development and launch of several stand-alone and four massively multi-player online games. Between Kesmai and EA, Bell spent one and a half years as a member of the general faculty, chief speechwriter and PR assistant to the President of the University of Virginia. Earlier, Bell was a freelance writer, producer and voice talent, working for clients as diverse as McDonalds, Sea World, Commercial Credit, the University of Virginia and IKEA. During that time, he also served as Executive Editor for The Gentle Doctor, a 12-part nationally syndicated PBS series. Bell began his career as a teacher, then a copywriter and account executive for Oregon-based Petzwold & Associates, and later for Winner/Cline & Associates in Florida. A published author and award-winning poet, Bell received a BA from the University of Virginia.