From Boxes to Bytes: The Evolution of Gaming into a Networked Media

Cross-listed under Games

Led by: Bill Clifford, WildTangent

The video game industry was (arguably) born in a bar in 1972 when Pong, the first coin-operated game, was carried over the threshold of Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, CA. Almost 30 years later, the same quarter that you dropped into a coin-op Pong machine can buy you virtual genetalia in Second Life or a spare tire in Kart Rider, a massively multi-player online racing game that 25f the S. Korean Population has played at least once in their lifetime. Let's explore the evolution of video gaming from a boxed product to a networked media that delivers the best of virtual worlds, social networking, and user-generated content.

What new content types and business models are emerging with the growth of online gaming? Will video gaming become the dominant broadcast media of the 21st Century? Is it sustainable as a free-ad supported media?

Following the discussion, we will pay homage to the classics. We have a number of classic games for people to play on modern-day consoles. Even better, if anyone has some genuine old gaming consoles they'd care to dust off for the occassion, please indicate what you'll be able to bring under the equipment section of the Games page.

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