2005 Electronic Gaming Summit Adds Bushnell Keynote

Ziff Davis Media Game Group has announced that Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and creator of the first digital videogame, will be the keynote speaker at the 9th Annual Ziff Davis Media Electronic Gaming Summit, to be held August 8-10, 2005 in Sonoma, California. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the home release of Pong, a major milestone for the home video gaming industry, and Bushnell, currently CEO and founder of uWink and the recently announced gaming restaurant concept Media Bistro, will talk about where the gaming market is headed, from the growing ubiquity of cell phones and handhelds to the rise of episodic games and non-entertainment gaming applications. Other speakers for the invitation-only Summit include top executives from Sony and Nintendo, as well as Neil Young, Vice President and General Manager of Electronic Arts Los Angeles, and Peter Moore, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing at Microsoft. "We're honored to have Mr. Bushnell speak in such an important year," said Scott McCarthy, President of Ziff Davis Media Game Group. "2005 is an historic anniversary for home videogames, and we're also seeing the launch of next-generation consoles on every major home and handheld platform. The Electronic Gaming Summit gives us a great opportunity to look at where we've been, where we are now, and, most importantly, where we're headed over the next five years."