With Current Respawn Entertainment Partner Jason West Developed Hugely Popular Franchise
Moderators, Panelists for Gaming Conference Sessions Confirmed
LOS ANGELES & MILFORD, Conn. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 7, 2011 — Unicomm, LLC, a leading event management company, and The Bob Dowling Group announced today that Respawn Entertainment's Vince Zampella, a key developer of the mega hit franchise “Call of Duty,” will be the Keynote Speaker at the second annual 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® presented in association with Variety, on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at the Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood, CA.
As a principal at Infinity Ward, Zampella and partner Jason West played key roles in the development of the multibillion-dollar military shooter franchise Call of Duty. The two formed Respawn (in the gaming world, "respawn" means a character that was killed off has come back to life) in April of 2010. Electronic Arts will have exclusive distribution rights to their next creation.
Throughout his career, Zampella, 40, whose industry stops have included Gametek, Atari, Panasonic/Ripcord, and Sega, has created many of the most successful and popular games in the world, with blockbuster action sequences in real-world settings that resemble those of big budget movies. Some of these include extensive online options allowing competition against other players via the Internet. All of this experience allows Zampella a wide canvas to expand his horizons for his next creations.
There have been six Call of Duty games released since 2003, four set during World War II, and two which carried the subtitle Modern Warfare featuring contemporary counter-terrorist combat. Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2 alone has sold approximately 20 million units and generated an estimated $1.3 billion.
“Vince has unparalleled hands-on experience in creating one of the great video game franchises of all-time,” said conference co-chairman Bob Dowling, "and as a Keynote Speaker confirms the 3D Gaming Summit as the thought-leader in the gaming entertainment landscape.”
"Respawn Entertainment is one of the most talked about new game studios in the world," said John Gaudiosi, Senior Content Advisor to the 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond® and Co-Founder, Gamerlive.tv. "Vince Zampella and Jason West helped evolve the video game space with their Call of Duty games while at Infinity Ward, pushing the envelope of interactive entertainment. I'm sure they'll continue to bring exciting new game experiences through their new Electronic Arts partnership moving forward."
As previously announced, Mick Hocking, Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, will be a featured speaker at the conference. Due to a scheduling conflict, Mr. Hocking's address, "The First Year of 3D on PlayStation®3" - presented entirely in 3D - will be on Tuesday, September 20th, starting at 3:50 pm and will cover case studies from major 3D games illustrating the processes developed to maintain an all important high quality bar and end with a look at how new technologies may shape the future of 3D gaming.
Sessions & Moderators: The 3D Gaming Summit: 3D Gaming and Beyond®
Social Gaming
Companies like Zynga and Facebook have changed
the face of gaming, while introducing millions of new fans to the hobby.
Social games are also attracting a large female demographic as well as
older gamers. And the new line-up of smartphones and tablets are opening
up social gaming beyond the PC. A panel of experts will explore what's
next for the evolution of social games.
Moderator: (to be announced)
Panelists: Careen Yap, Konami Digital
Entertainment; Matt Costello, President, Polar Productions, Ltd.; Matt
Norton, Studio Director, Bigpoint; Michael Lustenberger, VP of Global
Brand Management, THQ
Top Game Developers Discuss the Future of 3D
Sony has been
pushing stereoscopic 3D since last year. This fall will see the majority
of its top-tier games being released in 3D, including Uncharted 3:
Drake's Deception, Resistance 3, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, and God of
War: Origins Collection. Developers behind these PlayStation 3
exclusives, including Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and Ready at Dawn
will talk about what 3D is adding to the video game experience in this
panel.
Moderator: Shane Satterfield, MTV
Panelists: Ethan Einhorn, Sega
America, Inc.; Jeremy Nikolai, Senior Programmer on God of War: Origins
Collection, Ready at Dawn
Glasses Free 3D Gaming is Officially a Trend
A look at how
autostereoscopic devices like the Nintendo 3DS, the Sprint HTC Evo 3D
and the AT&T LG Thrill are opening up new audiences to glasses free 3D
gaming and entertainment with a panel of leading game developers from
THQ, Gameloft, Ubisoft and EA Mobile. They’ll also explore the
cross-over effect of glasses free gaming to the living room.
Moderator: Neil Schnieder, Executive Director, S3DGA & Meant To Be Seen
Panelists:
Andrew Fear, NVDIA; Matty Rich, Producer/Director; Jon Peddie, JPR
Research; Kris Roberts, MTBS
A New Augmented Reality
