GamesBeat Summit 2020 will focus on the latest trends in the gaming ecosystem, so of course we’re going to have a panel on the future of influencer marketing.
Our event will take place on April 28 and April 29 in downtown Los Angeles at Two Bit Circus, a “micro-amusement park.” This place combines old-style circus and arcade games with modern virtual reality entertainment in the city’s Arts District.
You can register for tickets here under our early-bird pricing at 30% off. You can see 23 of the speakers listed on the event site, and we’ll have 100 speakers by April.
The future of influencer marketing panel’s speakers are:
- Andrea Rene, cofounder of What’s Good Games
- Mari “AtomicMari” Takahashi, cofounder of Smosh Games
- Paola “Pancakepow” Alejandra, creator of Pancakepow.com
- Joshua “Jovenshire” Ovenshire,gaming influencer and series creator of Worst Ways to Die at Arcade Cloud
Other previously announced speakers include:
- Nicolo Laurent, CEO of Riot Games
- Gary Whitta, screenwriter for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and former editor of PC Gamer
- Tina Amini, editor-in-chief of games at IGN
- Richard Lemarchand, associate professor at the USC Games program
- Nika Nour, executive director of International Game Developers Association Foundation
- David Gardner, cofounder of London Venture Partners
- Anantha Duraiappah, director of UNESCO MGIEP, a promoter of games for peace
We’ve got more speakers that we haven’t announced yet. They will have their own way of expressing what our theme — the Dawn of a New Generation — means to them.
It’s a time of change in the game industry. Console makers are moving ahead with their new machines. Cloud gaming efforts like Google Stadia are joining the fray. Apple is driving hard with Apple Arcade, and HBO, Netflix, and others are moving into games. The digital delivery stores are proliferating, giving competition to the old guard like Steam. And AR/VR companies are trying to get off the ground with new tech.
Gaming is moving down parallel paths, finding new ways to turn all of us into gamers. It is an ever-widening circle of opportunity, and our speakers will talk about how to best navigate these transitions to new machines, new markets, new business models, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Andrea Rene, cofounder of What’s Good Games
Andrea Rene is one of the brains behind the wildly popular “What’s Good Games,” serving as head of operations and co-host. She is also a producer, writer, and on-camera host. She’s been working in video games media for over a decade, and you can catch her video game commentary weekly on “What’s Good Games.” She was nominated for “Trending Gamer” at The Game Awards 2017 and has hosted for EA, Facebook Live, Nintendo, IGN, and many more
Mari ‘AtomicMari’ Takahashi, cofounder of Smosh Games
As one of the top women in the world of video gaming, Mari “AtomicMari” Takahashi (no relation to me) is a digital pioneer, pop and nerd culture advocate, former prima ballerina, and cofounder of the top-ranking gaming brand Smosh Games (7.45 million subscribers), the fastest-growing channel to reach 1 million on YouTube at launch. She has about two million social media followers.
Recognized by Forbes as a “Top Influencer In Gaming,” Mari transitioned her love for video games, adventure and technology into being an advocate for young girls to pursue STEM careers in her philanthropic work with NASA and The Planetary Society. Recently, she starred in beauty giant Olay’s New York Fashion Week “Face Anything” campaign for being a top fearless female in a male-dominated industry.
Paola ‘Pancakepow’ Alejandra, creator of Pancakepow.com
Paola Alejandra (aka Pancakepow) is a California-based gamer, host, model, consultant, shout caster, and interviewer. Her passion for video games is matched only by her drive to create compelling content. Growing up with a love of first-person shooters and RPGs inspired her to establish her own gaming publication (Pancakepow.com) and the podcast (GGGWP) in 2012.
Over the course of her career, she has attended and hosted coverage for companies like Twitch, MLG, ESL, Facebook, and Marvel. She has covered gaming expos worldwide such as E3, San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con, C2E2, Gamescom, IEM, Penny Arcade Expo, Blizzcon, Anime Expo, TwichCon, and Call of Duty Championships, and many more. Also has deep passion for the art of cosplay. Her cosplay work has been featured on MTV, Kotaku, Game Informer, CNET, IGN, and Tokyo Journal.
Paola’s positive, personality-driven hosting style, along with her tri-lingual background (English, Spanish, Portuguese), make her a versatile and influential voice within the gaming and esports community.
Joshua ‘Jovenshire’ Ovenshire, TheJovenshire
The Streamy winner and Smosh Games founding member — best known to fans as Jovenshire — has appeared on TBS’s King Of The Nerds and Disney XD’s Gamer’s Guide To Pretty Much Everything. Since the launch of Smosh Games, Joshua has branched off, now sharing thoughts and insights on entertainment news, gaming content, and all things “Geek-Culture” on his YouTube channel TheJovenshire, his Instagram, and Twitter. Joshua also lends his voice to many popular channels and video games. Some of his voice-over work has been featured on “How It Should Have Ended”, “The Warp Zone”, “Smosh”, and the hit video game “Smite.” He is series creator of Worst Ways to Die at Arcade Cloud.
What to expect
We’re honored to have these speakers. They’ll be speaking in fireside chats, panels, and solo talks across our three stages: The Boss Stage (CEO/business talks), The Hero Stage (triple-A game developers and consumer-oriented talks), and The Bonus Stage (special talks).
The event will span all of games. We think that bringing the leaders of the industry together from different sectors helps refine the best thinking, and you often get wisdom from lessons that are hard learned. These kinds of talks and the chance for networking across sectors and industries is what will make our event unique in the crowded conference space.
Our event is going to be an intimate affair. And our location this year once again fits right with our theme. Two Bit Circus is a 40,0000-square-foot playground for all ages, with entertainment that includes escape rooms, virtual reality experiences, a VIP loft, live interactive games, a robot bartender show, and modern versions of carnival games. Our attendees will be able to hear business talks in the Club 101 auditorium and consumer-focused talks in a second hall.
We’re still forming our topics around next-generation gaming. The discussions will likely focus on investing in games; mergers and acquisitions and the changes they will bring about; the globalization of games; diversity; esports; the psychology of games; rising regulation; AI’s impact on games; games for peace; the rise of influencers; the convergence of sci-fi, tech, and games; monetization; blockchain and cryptocurrency; and debates on topics such as addiction and loot boxes.
This is our 11th year of GamesBeat events and this year promises to be the best one yet. If you’ve never been to our event, here’s my opening speech at last year’s event. And here are links to the videos for day one and day two. And here’s a summary of a few talks and a story about the Bushnell family that built Two-Bit Circus. Check out those links if you want to see if GamesBeat Summit is for you.
Stay tuned as we announce more great speakers to our first-rate lineup. A partial list of sponsors includes Consumer Acquisition, Rogue Games, Genvid, Niantic, Two Hat Security, Jam City, Scopely, and Adjust.
Register for GamesBeat 2020 below.
https://www.eventbrite.com/static/widgets/eb_widgets.js
var exampleCallback = function() {
console.log(‘Order complete!’);
};
window.EBWidgets.createWidget({
// Required
widgetType: ‘checkout’,
eventId: ‘60771924462’,
iframeContainerId: ‘eventbrite-widget-container-60771924462’,
// Optional
iframeContainerHeight: 425, // Widget height in pixels. Defaults to a minimum of 425px if not provided
onOrderComplete: exampleCallback // Method called when an order has successfully completed
});