Video Game Industry Convenes At Annual D.I.C.E. Summit And Awards Show

The 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit kicks off today, marking the 12 th anniversary of the video game industry's most prestigious and exclusive event. The annual event, produced by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) and Penske Media Corporation (PMC), draws some of the brightest and most influential interactive entertainment industry leaders and seeks to foster meaningful interaction and engagement among attendees in a collegial atmosphere. The summit continues through Feb. 8 at its new home, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

The 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit will also host the 16 th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 7. The peer-driven awards are a celebration of the best in interactive entertainment and represent the highest honors bestowed upon the interactive entertainment industry. Produced by AIAS and PMC/Variety, the Awards show will be streamed live on www.MachinimaLive.com at 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST. Self-proclaimed nerd and video game enthusiast Chris Hardwick, founder of Nerdist.com and host of his own Comedy Central stand-up special, AMC's Talking Dead, and newly announced BBC America's The Nerdist, will serve as this year's host.

The four-day conference includes 20 speaking and panel sessions covering industry trends that are pushing the boundaries of technology, creativity and artistic expression, and opening discussion on key challenges affecting developers, publishers and business leaders alike in 2013. Highlights from the keynotes and sessions will be available at http://youtube.com/entv; full sessions will be available on http://youtube.com/variety. This year's program includes:

J.J. Abrams, writer, director and producer, and opening keynote headliner
Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve Corporation, 2013 AIAS Hall of Fame inductee, and opening keynote headliner
Dan Connors, CEO and co-founder of Telltale Games
Glen Schofield, co-founder and studio head of Sledgehammer Games
David Cage, CEO of Quantic Dream
Randy Pitchford, co-founder, owner and president of Gearbox Software
Phil Larsen, CMO of Halfbrick Games
David Edery, CEO of Spry Fox
Julian Farrior, CEO of Backflip Studios
Amir Rao, studio director for Supergiant Games
Xavier Poix, managing director of Ubisoft France
Jenova Chen, creative director and co-founder of thatgamecompany
Jesse Schell, CEO of Shell Games and distinguished professor of the Practice of Entertainment
Technology at Carnegie Mellon University
Victor Kislyi, CEO and founder of Wargaming.net
Dr. Ray Muzyka, CEO and founder of Threshold Impact
Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian Entertainment
Kiki Wolfkill, executive producer at Microsoft Game Studios/343 Industries
Frank O'Connor, franchise development director atMicrosoft Game Studios/343 Industries
Warren Spector, veteran electronic game designer/producer
Julie Uhrman, founder and CEO of OUYA
Mark Stern, president Original Content at Syfy
Nick Beliaeff, vice president of production at Trion Worlds, Inc.
Matt Lee Johnston, video game designer and producer
Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Inc.
David Ting, general manager of eSports at IGN Pro League (IPL)

The Thursday opening keynote session by Gabe Newell titled "A View on Next Steps" will be live streamed on Feb. 7 beginning at 9:30 a.m. PST at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeYxKIDGh8I.

"The D.I.C.E. Summit annually honors interactive entertainment culture and achievement in our rapidly changing global theater, while welcoming the leaders in our industry to openly share, collaborate and grow the art and business of our industry," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. "The summit themes pay homage to the pillars for which this conference was founded - Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain - and this year's line-up of industry luminaries will tackle the topics shaping the future of interactive entertainment, including mobile development, transmedia storytelling, emerging technologies, and multiplatform development."

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