Half-day Workshop: The Online Gaming Phenomenon - What Does It Mean to the Broadband Industry?

Gaming is not just for kids anymore: with an estimated 120 million people playing interactive online games globally on a regular basis by 2005, online gaming has rapidly become a dominant player in the entertainment industry. Not only did the U.S. video game industry generate more than $10 billion in sales in the midst of the dot-com fall-out in 2001, but it became the second largest entertainment segment, outstripping that of the Hollywood movie industry. And the European market has been no slouch either, with sales of leisure software reaching $5.5 billion in Europe and $3.5 billion in the U.K. in that same year. Moreover, Asian game companies have been leading the way in generating subscription revenues from what was largely an American invention, also known as MMORPG, or massively multiplayer role playing games.

Many experts today think that online gaming is fundamentally changing the way people communicate and interact online. And, many research studies have suggested that there is a strong correlation between broadband penetration rate and online gaming popularity. A key question is then: How can companies from both industries benefit from the phenomenon? Or better yet, is it possible to collaborate directly and profitably among game developers, publishers, aggregators and service providers? This interactive session is designed to bring leading thinkers in the online gaming space and broadband industry to blend both industries' collective knowledge and show a glimpse of how cross-industry collaborations between the two industries can create a winning, profitable partnership.

Chairperson:

Joshua C. Hong, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, K2 Network, 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.

Speakers:

John Goodale, Chief Executive Officer, Ages Entertainment, is an industry veteran who has been involved in the sales, marketing, and intellectual property licensing of more than 80 properties, including games properties and online technologies. These efforts have generated in excess of $100 million in revenue for companies such as Sega and Activision. Extensive business experience in Europe and Asia, he has worked or consulted for a number of large multinational corporations. John has directed a number of company startups, and brings a wealth of business experience to the industry.

Jinho Lee, Director, Strategic Planning Division, Actoz Soft, he has brought global success to the company by launching all Actoz Softs' products throughout all Asia. Mr. Lee joined Actoz Soft in year 2000 as Director of Actoz Soft's Overseas Business Division. He has served as a Senior Researcher at LG Research Institute of Economics before joining Actoz and has achieved a Ph.D in Economics at University of Pittsburgh.

Haisong Tang, Chief Executive Officer, eTang, is the founder of the largest game and teenager community portal targeting China's MTV generation with 20 million registered users. He is a Senior Economic Advisor to the City Government of Shanghai for planning of Shanghai's Game and Digital Media Development Park to attract foreign investment and revitalize local economy. He also worked as assistant to CEO for Ermenegildo Zegna in Italy and as a management consultant in London, Hong Kong, New York, and Shanghai at McKinsey & Co.

Peter Spencer, Director, Strategic Marketing, Fixed Communications Group, Alcatel Europe, is responsible for Applications and Orthogonal Industries, articulating the Alcatel marketing strategy in the no-man's land where applied telecommunications meets other industry sectors covering everything from consumer electronics to ERP.

Sunghwang Park, Director, Neowiz, is currently serving as a member of the board of directors for Neowiz (Pmang), the largest game portal in Korea. Sunghwang is a former corporate finance banker at Merrill Lynch, Nomura Securities, and Nikkei Corporation. He is also a founding partner of Asia M&A Corporation and Asset Management Korea, Inc., and has invested in over 50 high-tech startups in the United States, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Korea.