• Last Day for Early Registration - Save $500
• New Speakers: Bruce Woodcock, Dana Hanna, Jason Roberts, Sam Lewis, Robert Ferrari, and Steven Klebe
• Meeting of the Minds: Interview with Steven Klebe
• Sponsorship Opportunities Available at ION 2008

Last Day for Early Registration
Save $500 if you register before midnight tonight

This is it. We’re on the threshold of one of your most important deadlines for the ION Game Conference. After midnight tonight (March 17th), the early registration rate, offering a discount of $500 off the on-site registration price, will be over. Gone. Finito. Kaput. Sayonara. If you've been putting off your registration, delay no further.

Just what does attendance get you at the ION Game Conference?

• First-class content. You'll have access to nearly seventy lectures, panels, and roundtables over three days, covering topics important to the breadth of the online game development world, including business, legal, production, new technologies, virtual worlds, social networking, community, and much more, delivered by some of the industry's most influential and knowledgeable speakers.
  
  
• Networking opportunities galore. Whether at the classy ION welcome reception, the official conference party at the Seattle Aquarium, the ION Nexus business lounge, or one of the speed-networking breakfasts, you'll have more opportunities to rub elbows with some of the online game industry’s most powerful movers and shakers than any other event. Since ION is smaller and more exclusive than other events, you can have the time you need to get to know just the right people without being lost in the mob.
  
  
• Incredible amenities. Ask anyone who attended last year: The sit-down lunches, gourmet snacks, and fine wine are just a part of what made ION one of the most memorable and superior game industry experiences in 2007. Everything at ION is step beyond what you've experienced elsewhere. You can bet we’re going to continue that tradition in ’08!

One pass covers just about everything at the ION Conference. No separate expo passes. No tutorial passes. No multi-tier pass system, where you're left wondering what you're missing. Just one pass that gives you the access of a VIP among other dignitaries at one of the game industry’s premiere conferences.  If you’re ready to register for ION, get started here:

Once you've registered for ION, we definitely recommend booking your stay at the official conference hotel, the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel. Not only are you conveniently located at the center of all the official conference action, you’re staying at one of Seattle’s finest hotels at a specially discounted rate.

Whether you've already registered or you’re just checking out attending the conference, get an early jump on networking with interesting and influential contacts by connecting to our social network, the ION Network. Many of our speakers, attendees and other industry folks are already making themselves at home here.

Once again, we’d like to thank you for your interest in the 2008 ION Game Conference!

Peter Freese Conference Director ION Game Conference

New Speakers Announced

We are very pleased to announce we have some amazing additions to speaker lineup. We will be announcing more speakers and sessions over the coming months, so stay tuned for the complete list.

See the complete list of speakers

Interview with BillToMobile's Steve Klebe

Steve Klebe, VP of Sales & Business Development for BillToMobile, shares his point of view with ION Connection about what it would take to bring alternative payment solutions to the cautious but curious hands of online game developers in North America. His lecture, Payments 101..201..301 for Online Gaming, will cover this important topic in depth, but through this interview we’re bringing you a snapshot into BillToMobile, alternative payment methods and what to expect from this session.

PAUL PHILLEO: Hi Steve, thank you for stepping up to the plate to be interviewed for the ION Connection. Please tell us a bit about the company you work with and what you do with them.

STEVE KLEBE: Hi, Danal, Inc is a new venture that has a strategic investment from a company in Korea by the same name and a multi-million dollar investment from a leading VC firm, Morganthaler Ventures. My role is as VP of Sales and Business Development which is responsible for building out the direct and channel sales teams and working on strategic alliances with implementation partners.

As an alternative billing solution, how would you compare BilltoMobile to familiar payment solution services to online consumers, like Google Checkout and PayPal?

BilltoMobile™ is unique in a number of ways: 1) the transaction is much more secure since it leverages both 1st factor authentication based on the last 4 digits of the SSN and 2nd factor with the mobile phone as an authentication device, 2) the user will automatically be enrolled as long as they have a mobile phone account with a carrier that we partner with versus with the solution you referred to which require enrollment and maintenance if you change any of the accounts that you associate with them, 3) the transaction is also much more secure than a credit card since the consumer does not have to disclose any sensitive financial information and unless the bad guy has their phone, even if a merchant’s database would be compromised no one could perform a transaction and 4) merchants will benefit from incremental sales since anyone with a post paid mobile phone account even the tweens and underbanked will be able pay with BilltoMobile™ and those consumers who are otherwise hesitant to pay with a credit card won’t have to worry either and 5) because of the two factor authentication, merchants will save both time and money analyzing which orders to take and processing chargebacks.

Continuing in the same vein, in execution and in end user experience how does BilltoMobile compare to the much-hyped Asian and European simple-and-convenient mobile payment solutions?

Well, since this is based on the Korean model which Danal pioneered 8 years ago, I would say it is identical. The user experience is extraordinarily simple and convenient. The user simple types in their mobile phone number, the last 4 digits of their SSN and then they receive a 6 digit one time password on their phone which they enter into the form. The charge then simply shows up on their mobile phone account.

How do you feel alternative payment systems such as yours could be disruptive influences to free-to-play and subscription business models for online gaming?

As it has proven in Korea, Taiwan and Asia, this is incredibly positive for this market. 70% of all digital goods ecommerce is paid for by direct mobile billing in Korea and once this gets going in the US it will help these markets be much more successful and open up whole new opportunities for merchants of all types to sell their content cost effectively.

What are the barriers that have kept mobile billing solutions from taking root in North America?

We have to overcome the hesitation of the mobile carriers which we believe we are making solid progress on. There are the classic doubts that just because it worked in Asia, will it work in the US. However, this is the only viable option that can both generate significant revenue for the carriers and make them more relevant to their customer’s digital lives by bringing a truly value added service to the much larger ecommerce market. It is going to very difficult for the banks and the carriers to work together and have a business model that makes any sense for either party in the Mobile banking or retail mobile payment realms.

Could you share a quick look inside what you’re going to be talking about at the 2008 ION Conference?

Yes, I plan on providing a solid foundation for the participants on a variety of payment options, the pluses and minuses, who the players are and why certain types of payment are inherently challenged when dealing with digital goods and services.

Lastly, what sort of connections and meetings do you hope to have at the ION Conference this year?

I am looking forward to meeting with a wide variety of participants from up and down the food chain to network and learn as much as I can about the market and their specific issues and needs.

Discuss on the ION Network

Sponsorship Opportunities Available at ION 2008

While sponsorships are being snatched up quickly, there are quite a few outstanding opportunities available that could perfectly fit your company. For example, the conference bag, hotel room drops, Nexus meeting rooms and conference program ads are still available. Select your preference while opportunities remain available. Ask us about our revised prospectus, which has the most up-to-date information about what we’re offering!

As an exhibitor/sponsor at ION, you will be able to expose your products and services to some of the most qualified attendees in the industry. You can enjoy meeting with the hundreds of attendees, speakers, and press — all with the common goal of promoting the online game development industry. We invite you to take a look at our prospectus and explore the advantages to our sponsorships we are offering. To learn more about fantastic marketing opportunities at ION visit the sponsorship page on our website, or contact:

Cynthia Freese
+1 425.654.4575
cynthia@ionconference.com

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