Game Horizons Unleashed: Navigating Global Trends in the US and Japan

*In-person Event

Join us for a captivating exploration of the dynamic landscape of the gaming industry, where we’ll delve into diverse facets that shape player experiences on both sides of the Pacific. This event aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Game Industry Trends in the US and Japan, touching upon a multitude of intriguing topics.

We’ll also be sharing cutting edge information from the industry’s premier event, the Game Developers Conference (GDC), that was recently held in San Francisco.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights, connect with industry leaders, and be at the forefront of the ever-evolving global gaming landscape.

世界のゲーム産業をアメリカと日本のトッププレイヤーたちが牽引してきました。開発者、ユーザー、観戦者の多様性も広がりつつあり、一大産業となったアメリカと日本のゲーム業界の現状と未来について、トップランナーたちが語ります。先日実施されたゲーム・デベロッパーズ・カンファレンス（GDC2024)についても複数の視点から分析します。

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Our Amazing Speakers

Akihiko Kusumoto | Vice President, Gaming & Network Technology, PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

Aki Kusumoto has been deeply involved in PlayStation Network (PSN) engineering since its inception in 2006 alongside the launch of PlayStation 3. Over the years, he has been serving as a lead Network Platform Architect for both PS4 and PS5. Currently, he leads and manages a dedicated team focused on enhancing player experiences, developing Creator SDKs & tools, and spearheading advancements in cloud infrastructure and enablement technologies for PlayStation.

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Chris Pruett | Director of Content Ecosystem, Meta Reality Labs

Chris Pruett is the Director of Content Ecosystem at Meta Reality Labs, where he runs third party publishing and designs content ecosystems. A veteran game developer, Chris has spent nearly 30 years shipping games in the United States and Japan. At Google, he brought game developers to the Android platform and helped launch the first Android devices in Japan. His own studio, Robot Invader, achieved significant cross-border success with its first mobile game, Wind-up Knight. Under the cover of night Chris writes about horror game design. He lives with his family in Seattle, Washington.

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Tomoya Ogawa | Co-founder & CEO, Kreation Verse, Inc

Tomoya Ogawa is a seasoned executive with over 12 years of comprehensive experience in corporate strategy, finance, strategic investment, post-merger integration (PMI), and global partnerships. In 2010, he joined DeNA Co. and led as the Head of Corporate Planning. In 2014, he joined Akatsuki Inc., a leading Japanese mobile gaming company known for developing and operating the globally successful mobile game, Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle. As Akatsuki’s CFO and Board Member, Tomoya spearheaded the company’s initial public offering (IPO) and led over 30 investments in entertainment startups across the US and India, significantly contributing to Akatsuki’s international footprint.
In 2021, Tomoya embarked on a new venture as the co-founder & CEO of Kreation Verse Inc., focusing on developing NFT game titles in collaboration with Japanese creators for a global audience.

David B. Hoppe | Managing Partner, Gamma Law

David B. Hoppe is the founder and managing partner of Gamma Law. Mr. Hoppe is an experienced international transactional lawyer and a recognized authority on emerging legal issues in high-growth media/technology sectors, including video games and esports, blockchain and digital assets, VR/AR/XR, and digital media/entertainment. Over a career spanning nearly three decades, based in New York, Tokyo, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Stockholm, and Helsinki, Mr. Hoppe has advised clients ranging from the world’s largest corporations to founders and early-stage startups on matters ranging from international debt and equity financings, venture capital and M&A transactions, to high-value content and technology licensing agreements, film/TV option agreements, and crypto/blockchain regulatory compliance. Read more here.

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Moderator

Dean Takahashi | Lead Writer for GamesBeat

Dean Takahashi is the lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He has been at VentureBeat since 2008. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, “Opening the Xbox” and “The Xbox 360 Uncloaked.” He organizes the annual GamesBeat and GamesBeat Summit conferences. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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