Post Event Summary September 9 to 11, 2015 | the Westin Bayshore | Vancouver, Canada | Xdsummit.Com
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post event summary september 9 to 11, 2015 | the westin bayshore | vancouver, canada | xdsummit.com advancing external development for the games industry xds 2015 sponsors & exhibitors presenting gold silver bronze exhibitors VIRTUAL PRODUCTION 2 4.5/5 about xds overall satisfaction score External Development Summit (XDS) is the only annual, international games industry event held weeks in Canada, with a focus on external development 7until for art, animation, audio, software engineering, XDS 2014! QA and localization. XDS brings together a niche community of game developers and publishers, vendors, middleware providers, and country representatives. The event is composed of industry players including: the Advisory Committee, Speakers, Sponsors, Exhibitors and of course attendees. Every year we meet in beautiful Vancouver, Canada to contribute to the advancement of our industry through collaboration, sharing of best practices, networking and delivering a high-caliber, educational program. See Event Highlight photos HERE “ I can honestly say that XDS was leaps and bounds better than any other show I’ve attended. XDS might be the best kept secret in the business.” Rob Clarke, 2K 3 about xds – 2015 achievements service providers 95% reported closing of service provid- deals more than ers evaluated for 30 new projects countries $500k+ attended 96% 72% consider XDS a 2,300 of service valuable way to database contacts providers closed meet new (18% increase YOY) deals as a result partners of XDS 1,632 4,967 62% B2B meetings social media increase in (22% increase YOY) followers developers (8% increase YOY) 4 speakers & sessions “ Great to be part of such an important industry event as #XDS2015” @petermooreEA, COO, Electronic Arts 5 4.5/5 speakers & sessions audience satisfaction score Presenters at XDS have extensive knowledge of external development in the areas of art, animation, audio or software engineering. High-impact sessions educate attendees on the best practices in the industry while cultivating an environment for weeks knowledge sharing. 7until XDS 2014! This year, XDS featured 33 high-caliber speakers leading main stage, breakout and panel discussions. “ XDS is an invaluable opportunity to share experiences and best practices in regards to outsourcing. Anyone who is involved with external development should attend and participate.” Adrien Cho, 343 Industries “ No other industry event matches XDS in effectiveness for our business development and brand building efforts.” Ashley Liu, Mindwalk Studios See Speaker Session photos HERE 6 the hub – sponsors and exhibitors “ This year was beyond what we expected and it was gratifying and exciting to see that XDS continued to pleasantly surprise us. We had no time to breathe due to meetings … and it was great!” Arjun Agnihotri, Director and Head of Business Development, Dhruva Interactive 7 the hub – sponsors and exhibitors A big thank you to the sponsors and exhibitors of XDS 2015! They helped to create memorable experiences with evening events, added bonuses for attendees and an atmosphere of collaboration and networking that was our best yet. The Hub Created around the Central Bar presented by Glass Egg, The Hub featured 18 exhibitor booths, XDS Connect Meeting Zone, Speakers Corner and a central area for all attendees to socialize and connect. Located right outside The Hub, the VEC Level Up Pavilion once again highlighted top Vancouver service providers. This area also boasted a massive photo backdrop created by NXA Studios to welcome attendees to XDS. “ Great organization, great people, great opportunities – XDS.” Jean-Paul Mari, Eidos Montréal See Sponsors and Exhibitor photos HERE 8 industry speed dating “ XDS is a great opportunity to meet up with all of the buyers I want to see, in a beautiful location, without the crowds of other events.” Kristy Scanlan, Technicolor 9 industry speed dating 4.5/5 participant satisfaction score Introduced for the first time at XDS 2015, Speed Dating was a fast, simple way for content creators to meet with external partners in a fun and casual environment. Sellers were given 3 minutes to deliver their pitch to buyers and exchange business cards before moving onto the weeks next round. 7until The positive feedback makes it a definite agenda item for XDS 2016! XDS 2014! Stay tuned for updates to next year’s Speed Dating event, helping attendees find a business match made in heaven! “ “XDS is an invaluable way to connect with external partners and other industry professionals.” Ian Walker, Microsoft – Turn 10 “ The Speed Dating was a super great opportunity to put names to faces, break the ice with many companies, and create networking 50/50 375 opportunities.” Carla De Ciccio, Hibernum split between speed dates buyers & sellers See Speed Dating photos HERE 10 evening special events “ XDS is where business and fun meet. It’s the most social event I’ve ever been to in the industry.” Paulo Luis Santos, Flux Game Studio 11 evening special events 4.75/5 attendee satisfaction score The evening special events at XDS offer a casual yet upbeat atmosphere for networking and socializing after the day’s main events. This year, XDS offered attendees the chance to attend all special events including: weeks 7until Speakers Dinner hosted by Virtuos XDS 2014! Welcome Reception presented by Liquid Development Industry Pub Crawl presented by Volta and MexicoIT Wrap Party presented by Unity “ Not only extremely useful, but also fun event, great people and good content!” Martin Korman, Outsource2us “ XDS was packed with talent, passion, and buzz!” Astrid Huntjens, Spil Games Click to see more photos: Speakers Dinner Industry Pub Crawl Welcome Reception Wrap Party 12 xds connect meeting zone “ XDS is THE games industry event that I look forward to every year!” Grayson Chalmers, Blizzard Entertainment 13 xds connect meeting zone 4.75/5 particpant satisfaction score XDS Connect was new to 2015, providing a forum for developers to weeks discover vendors, middleware providers, and trade organizations attending XDS. XDS Connect allowed developers to filter by criteria, 7until view company profiles, and opt to schedule meetings to take place in XDS 2014! the XDS Connect Meeting Zone. Offering benefits to both Service Providers and Developers and Publishers, XDS Connect is the new way to ensure effective networking before, during and after XDS events. “XDS enabled me to widen my professional network as well as giving me the opportunity to meet some great people.” Chris Kembry, Improbable “ One stop shopping for outsourcing.” Eric Nofsinger, High Voltage 287 scheduled meetings See XDS Connect Meeting Zone photos HERE 14 xds mobile app 80,000+ in-app engagements (54% increase YOY) “ XDS is one of the most useful summits/conferences that I have attended... with distributed development getting bigger every year, more people from the industry need to be at XDS!” Scott Russell, EA Shanghai 15 xds mobile app 4.5/5 user satisfaction score Sponsored by Virtuos, the industry leading XDS Mobile App ensures attendees are well informed and prepared to make the most out of the event. weeks In its first year of introduction at XDS, our exclusive Mobile App 7until supplied the following features: XDS 2014! u Ability to message other attendees u Detailed event program u Roster of ALL attendees by industry type u Leaderboards that awards participation u Exhibitor and sponsor lists u Live polling and surveys 80% 400 active users registered users 500+ status 3,400+ updates likes “ XDS is on its way to being Canada’s premier gaming conference.” Mohammad Agha, Magmic Inc. 16 xds advisory committee The XDS Advisory Committee is made up of industry leaders who are interested in supporting cooperative advancement of external development within the games industry. These professionals volunteer their time to ensure the program is excellent in content and educational value. COLBY ACREE ANTON WIEGERT DILBER MANN JARED JOHNSON MATT REGNIER LOIS WANG Outsourcing Manager, Head of Outsourcing, Sr. Project Manager, External Development Lead Outsource & Technical Art Outsourcing Manager Disney Interactive Studios Guerrilla Games (Sony) Capcom Director, EA Sports SE Content Artist, DeNA Distributed Development Turbine/WB Games Electronic Arts SU-CHENG WU RICCARD LINDE SAM CARLISLE GRAYSON CHALMERS CHRIS WREN ASTRID HUNTJENS Manager, Operations Sr. Director, Art Production, Senior Outsource Manager, Outsource Manager, Producer, WW External Licensing Manager, & Service Dev, Activision Microsoft Blizzard Entertainment Development, Electronic Arts Spil Games Sony Computer Entertainment America Learn more about the Advisory Committee HERE 17 Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at XDS 2016? Contact us! For more info on XDS visit: xdsummit.com 18.