EA CEO Riccitiello To Keynote 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) has the 2008 dates, venue and early line-up of speakers and sponsors for its upcoming D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit. The interactive entertainment industry event will be held in Las Vegas at the Red Rock Resort, February 6-8, 2008. Discussion topics will be relevant to the current state of the video game industry, developing trends and key issues facing top video game designers, developers, publishers and business leaders. Also returning this year, are the “power-hour” sessions that provide three speakers an hour, giving brief 20-minute presentations about the existing obstacles and opportunities confronting the multi-billion dollar industry. Confirmed speakers include Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello as keynote, Microsoft Game Studios head Shane Kim, the NPD Research Group's Anita Frazier, Oddworld Inhabitants' Lorne Lanning, and Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat. The AIAS expects to announce more speakers over the next few weeks. In addition, this year's D.I.C.E. Summit will feature the 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony, hosted for the third year by comedian Jay Mohr, to celebrate individuals and products that contribute to the growth of the interactive entertainment software business. Other events will include the EA Sports 5th Annual D.I.C.E. Summit Golf Tournament, and the Interactive Achievement Pre-Awards Party to be hosted by Comcast and Game Invasion at the Cherry Nightclub. The D.I.C.E. Summit 2008 key sponsors so far include: Bioware/Pandemic, Boesky & Company, Business Wire, Comcast, Day One Studios, Dell Computer, EA Sports, Electronic Arts, Enterprise Talent, GameRecruiter, Insomniac Games, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Philips amBx, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Stormfront Studios, and Ubisoft. Online registration for the D.I.C.E. Summit 2008 will open October 4, 2007. Further information is available at the event website.