We’re taking GamesBeat Summit 2020 into a digital online-only format. And here’s the next slate of speakers: Stanley Pierre-Louis, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association; Keisha Howard, founder of Sugar Gamers; Blake Harris, author of Console Wars and The History of the Future; and Josh Tsui, director of the upcoming Insert Coin documentary.
We’ve added these speakers to the updated agenda, posted below, for the event which will air on April 28 and April 29 as a virtual conference. If you are interested in attending GamesBeat Summit online, please sign up here.
After careful thought about the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, we decided not to use centralized studios or physical locations. But we think we can serve our GamesBeat community well with a fully distributed, digital event.
The health and safety of our GamesBeat community, attendees, employees, and sponsors remains our top priority. In this digital event, attendees can watch livestreamed and recorded talks, take part in online networking sessions and digital roundtables, access our gaming partners virtually, and more.
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Stanley Pierre-Louis, president and CEO of Entertainment Software Association
Above: Stanley Pierre-Louis is CEO of the ESA.
I’m pleased to announce that Stanley Pierre-Louis, the acting head of the Entertainment Software Association, will speak at GamesBeat Summit Digital. Pierre-Louis had to make some tough decisions recently. Because of the pandemic, he had to cancel the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the big game trade show that takes place every June in Los Angeles. And instead of rescheduling it, the ESA decided to postpone a new physical E3 show until June 2021.
Pierre-Louis is the voice and advocate for the U.S. video game industry. With more than two decades of entertainment and media experience, he leads ESA’s public policy efforts to showcase the dynamic impact the video game industry has on business, entertainment, and culture.
Prior to being named CEO in May 2019, Stan served as the ESA’s general counsel, leading the legal, policy, and regulatory affairs function for the organization. Before joining the ESA in May 2015, Pierre-Louis served as senior vice president and associate general counsel for intellectual property at Viacom, as senior vice president for legal affairs at the Recording Industry Association of America, and as outside counsel to leading media companies. He started his legal career as a law clerk to Judge David A. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and has served on several non-profit boards.
Keisha Howard, founder of Sugar Gamers
Above: Keisha Howard, Sugar Gamers
Infectiously passionate about the worlds of video games and geek culture, Keisha Howard is a leader who has created a compelling and engaging vision and inspires others around it. A multi-time GamesBeat Summit, Howard is able foresee what lies beyond the horizon for the video game and e-sports industries. She regards video games as more than just entertainment, but a system of ideas and processes that can move and inspire people to action. For the second year in a row, she will moderate a talk with Pierre-Louis.
Howard started Sugar Gamers over 10 years ago while pursuing a career in high-rise real estate development. She started this media tech company without outside resources or funds, yet is able to create unorthodox solutions to the seemingly countless problems that exist while bootstrapping an entrepreneurial endeavor. She’s created a unique community, united not only by common interests in gaming and geek culture, but by the mission of promoting diversity and inclusiveness in a space that often suffers from the lack of it.
Her journey has afforded her the opportunity to work with brands like SYFY, Watchmojo, AT&T, HBO, Nintendo, HTC, Microsoft, Google, and more.
Blake Harris, author of Console Wars and The History of the Future
Above: Blake Harris’ most recent book is The History of the Future.
Blake J. Harris is the bestselling author of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo and the Battle that Defined a Generation, which is currently being adapted for television by Legendary Entertainment, and producers Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg and Scott Rudin. Harris has written for ESPN, IGN, Fast Company, /Film and The AV Club and appears regularly on Paul Scheer’s How Did This Get Made? podcast (where he interviews the biggest names responsible for the worst movies ever made).
His latest book, The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook and the Revolution that swept Virtual Reality, was published by HarperCollins in February 2019. I’ve read both of his books and found them very entertaining and enlightening.
Josh Tsui, director of Insert Coin
Above: Josh Tsui is director of Insert Coin.
Joshua Tsui spent over two decades working in video game development as a director on key franchises such as Mortal Kombat, Fight Night, and Tony Hawk.
Having studied film in college, he accidentally got into games development and put his filmmaking career on hold. Insert Coin, a history of Midway Games, brings him back to his roots with a subject he holds dear.
Event details
GamesBeat Summit Digital will provide the same great content and create digital networking experiences, all available remotely. We’ve very grateful that the overwhelming number of our speakers (which we originally recruited for our physical event) and our sponsors have stayed with us. We hope to live up to their belief in us with our talks around the theme of Dawn of the Next Generation.
We will continue to be proactive in our communication and will follow up with more information about technology platforms and logistics in the coming days. It looks like we’re heading toward an even larger even with about 115 speakers. The schedule is still subject to change. Here’s the agenda.
