Click on the Video Below and Sample a Session from a previous Digital Hollywood event. For Additional Video Sessions, Click Here Digital Hollywood Events at CES 2009 Wednesday, January 7th 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Track II- GP3 - Game Power Virtual Worlds and the Massively Multiplayer Gaming Explosion - the PC, the Console and Mobile While virtual worlds and the massively multiplayer game are not technically the same thing, their similarities are striking and in this session we will take a look at a broadband and mobile universe that is growing into a full-fledged digital society of friends and distant strangers who are creating, living, game-playing and otherwise immersing themselves in alternate human or non-human environment. In today’s advanced graphical broadband and mobile world, it is easier to understand how daily life in an all-digital environment – be it entertainment, work, adventure, travel or alternate lifestyle could become as real and accepted as real life. In this session, we will open a discussion of what our 2nd lives are all about. Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online Brett Close, President & CEO, 38 Studios Jim Crowley, CEO, Turbine Nique Fajors, Executive Vice President, Webcarzz Lars Buttler, Founder & CEO, Trion World Network Randy Stude, President, PC Gaming Alliance, Director, Gaming Program Office, Intel Corp. Brett Sappington, Vice President, Parks Associates, Moderator Nique Fajors, EVP, Webcarzz, former Vice President, Marketing, Capcom Entertainment: Nique Fajors has co-founded two companies, launched more than 40 consumer and entertainment products into various global markets, published a book, and developed and produced an educational video. Most recently, he was Vice President, Marketing for Capcom Entertainment, Inc., one of the world's most successful publishers and developers of software entertainment. Mr. Fajors' creative work has been profiled in The Boston Globe, Essence Magazine, The Source, The San Francisco Examiner, and The Bill Cunningham News Radio Show. As an interactive entertainment thought leader he has been quoted in The Financial Times and The New York Times. Prior to Capcom he held a similar position at Atari, Inc. He began his business career at Procter & Gamble in brand management and has held leadership positions at Snyder Communications, The U.S. Department of Commerce, and The White House. At Snyder Communications he was President, Consumer Marketing Services of a $50 million division. He holds a B.S.B.A. with honors from the Suffolk University Frank Sawyer School of Management and a M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He has traveled throughout Europe, Japan, East and West Africa, and the Middle East. Presently, he sits on the board of the National Childhood Obesity Foundation and the advisory board of The League. Lars Buttler, Founder & CEO, Trion World Network: Lars Buttler is a Founder and the CEO of Trion World Network, Inc., the publisher and developer of games and original entertainment for the connected world. Trion (www.trionworld.com) provides groundbreaking new capabilities and content to revolutionize global entertainment by combining the best elements of online, gaming, and traditional media. Prior to founding Trion, Buttler was the Vice President for Global Online at Electronic Arts, the world’s largest independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Buttler led EA’s strategy for online games and services and ran EA’s Online Studio, home to the pioneering Ultima Online MMOG franchise. Randy Stude, President, PC Gaming Alliance, Director, Gaming Program Office, Intel Corp.: Randy Stude has worked for Intel for 12 years and has spent most of his time working with gaming software vendors to optimize for Intel's Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Quad processors. Randy is responsible for managing the World Wide Gaming Product, Platform and Marketing Strategies for Intel Corporation. Craig Sherman, Chief Executive Officer, Gaia Online: During business hours, Craig Sherman lives in gaiaonline.com, the leading teen hangout on the web. Craig leads the company’s strategic planning, management, and technology development. Prior to joining Gaia Online, Craig served as Entrepreneur in Residence at Benchmark Capital. Craig was also COO of MyFamily.com (ancestry.com), where he helped grow the company from $23 million to $150 million in sales and transform it from an advertising-based site to a highly profitable consumer subscription business. Before this, Craig held senior positions at American International Group, where he ran all marketing and internet sites for AIG in Japan and Korea. Previous to AIG, Craig was CEO of Cendant Japan, a joint venture founded by Cendant and Mitsubishi Corporation. Craig currently holds director or advisor positions on the boards of Homestead, Myheritage, Netquote and Singlefeed. Previously, Craig also held board positions with Photobucket, prior to its sale to the Fox network, and Logoworks, prior to its sale to Hewlett Packard. Craig has a BA from Princeton University. Jim Crowley, CEO, Turbine: Jim Crowley is Turbine's president and CEO. He brings a wealth of operational experience to Turbine and is responsible both for the vision and the day-to-day operations of the Company. Prior to joining Turbine, Jim spent three years as Chief Operating Officer of m-Qube, Inc which he helped turn into one of North America's largest mobile media companies. Jim also spent eight years as the Chief Operating Officer of Network Plus, Inc., one of the country's largest publicly traded competitive telecommunications and data providers. Crowley is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Connecticut College. Brett Close, President & CEO, 38 Studios: Brett Close is a video game industry veteran with more than a decade of experience delivering highly successful entertainment products and leading multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, artists, game designers, and audio experts. Brett most recently served as the general manager and production director of Midway Games’ Austin, TX game development studio where he oversaw global production as well as managed the studio’s game teams on the BlackSite: Area51 and NightCaster product lines. Brett is an expert in the intersection of technology, game design, and software development after having held a number of technical and managerial roles in the software industry. Earlier in his career as a development director at Electronic Arts, Brett was responsible for all technical aspects of development and production for the award winning Medal of Honor game franchise, based out of EA’s Los Angeles studio. He honed his skills at Devil’s Thumb / VR-1 / Jaleco Entertainment in Boulder, Colorado, where he began his game career as a software engineer and technical director, and quickly worked his way up to senior producer for the NightCaster Xbox launch, and eventually became general manager of the Boulder studio. Brett holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science as well as a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Kansas. He also studied philosophy and chemistry at Universität Dortmund in Germany. An avid athlete, musician, and environmentalist, Brett is a respected industry leader known for both encouraging and establishing a true work-life balance in the game development environment.