Virtual Goods Summit adds iPhone panel

The Virtual Goods Summit, a conference dedicated to the virtual goods space in gaming, today unveiled a lineup of new additions to their program, including an iPhone panel, five new speakers and two new lectures. The updated program comes in the wake of new research that projects the virtual goods market will grow to $1 billion in 2009.

In its third year, the Virtual Goods Summit starts on October 29 in San Francisco, CA with the Virtual Goods University, a full day workshop specifically for disseminating information on the fundamentals of virtual goods. On October 30 the Virtual Goods Summit will feature a full day of discussions focused on trends and success stories from individuals at the forefront of digital goods sales and services.

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Playfish expands in San Francisco

Social gaming company Playfish has opened a new game development studio in San Francisco. The studio, which complements Playfish’s acclaimed development studios in London, Beijing and Norway, will target the Bay Area’s talent resources to create original social games for friends to play together on platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, iPhone and Android.

Playfish’s latest studio joins the company’s existing business development focused office in San Francisco, which was established in 2008. Further details and information about available positions in San Francisco and other Playfish offices can be found at www.playfish.com.

Playfish founder to keynote GDC Austin

Sebastien de Halleux, chief operating officer and co-founder, of social games developer and publisher Playfish will deliver the keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference Austin (GDC Austin). The keynote will take place the morning of September 18, 2009, at the Austin Convention Center.

Sebastien de Halleux’s keynote will focus on how these social platforms can be used to create engaging games and why developers should be looking at social networks as a burgeoning area of videogame design and business development. Playfish has succeeded by expanded its reach beyond traditional gamers and putting an emphasis on interaction between friends.

More than 100 million copies of its games across nine titles have been installed, after only 18 months since its launch in late 2007. Playfish’s games include the popular hits Pet Society, Restaurant City, Who Has The Biggest Brain? and Crazy Planets. Players access these games via web browsers through social networking sites including Facebook, Bebo and MySpace.

To register for GDC Austin, visit www.GDCAustin.com.

Mobsters 2: Vendetta now on Facebook

Playdom has released Mobsters 2: Vendetta on Facebook, the first sequel to a major social game. This comes on the heels of the company’s launch of Mobsters: Big Apple, the first iPhone mafia game linked to a social network. Launched on Facebook earlier this month, Mobsters 2: Vendetta boasts twice the content of the original an original plotline, a new dynamic territory system that lets players build and manage their own mob city, twenty mob classes to aspire to starting out as a street level thug and new cities like Chicago and Las Vegas.

Launched in July 2008, the original Mobsters became the #1 app on MySpace in September, only three months after its initial debut. The game still holds the top spot, and players remain engaged in the game. In June 2009, the original Mobsters was launched on Facebook, where it continues to enjoy triple digit monthly user and revenue growth.

You can find the game on Facebook by visiting this link.

Pug Pharm gets NRC-IRAP funding, support

Canada-based social networking game developer Pug Pharm Productions has managed to score funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The funds, along with technical and business-oriented advisory services provided by NRC-IRAP, will enable Pug Pharm to develop the kind of games it envisions creating. The company’s focus is on the intersection between social networking applications and online games. Pug Pharm says that it is committed to developing online games that combine the engagement of traditional video games with the technologies of social networking applications. Pug Pharm is lead by Bocska—formerly of Radical/Vivendi, EA/BlackBox, Disney Interactive, and co-founder of Hothead Games.

NRC-IRAP works with small- and medium-sized Canadian firms, providing expertise and advice as well as potential funding in developing their ideas. Financial assistance for this project is a direct result of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan outlined in Budget 2009. For more information check out www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

DSI meets Facebook with new update

Nintendo DSi users can now connect upload photos to their Facebook accounts. Using an Internet-connected Nintendo DSi system and the Nintendo DSi Camera application, Facebook members can take pictures with either of the system’s two cameras and upload their photos directly to their Facebook profile. This function will be available after 5 p.m. Pacific with a free downloadable system update.

While reviewing pictures stored in the Nintendo DSi Camera album, users can simply tap the Facebook icon on the system’s touch screen to instantly transmit photos to the user’s Facebook profile. The user’s system must be configured to a wireless broadband Internet connection for the transmission of photos.

Look for the feature to go live later today.

Games in Education Symposium kicking off next week

A two day conference comprised of workshops and presentations revolving around education, computers, video games, teaching techniques using software and video game development is going to kick off next week at the Hudson Valley Community College campus in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center. In its third year, the conference is called Games in Education Symposium and runs August 5th and 6th.

The event is free to educators from early childhood to post secondary education interested in the use of games and technology to promote better ways of learning in the 21st century. This year’s it will explore the practical application of interactive technologies like video games, social networks, blogs and other media to inspire and promote learning.

This year’s topics include the exploration of virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft and how teachers are using the games successfully in schools, to Social Robotics experimentation aimed at getting kids interested in Computer Science, to analyzing the real world pressures teacher’s face.

The 2009 Games in Education Symposium is presented by 1st Playable Productions, WMHT public television (an Albany, NY PBS station), the Teacher Preparation Department at Hudson Valley Community College, the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium, and the College of Computing and Information at The University at Albany.

The event will run 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 5 and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday, August 6. For more information or to register, visit www.gamesineducation.org. Hudson Valley Community College is located at 80 Vandenburgh Ave, Troy NY 12180. Lunch and door prizes will be provided. More information on key sponsor 1ST Playable, can be found at www.1stplayable.com.