VIDFEST: May 21-24...

Gaming company, Nexon North America is bringing Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of "Wired Magazine", to Vancouver, May 23rd to deliver the keynote speech at VIDFEST 2008.

"...Chris Anderson, considered one of the most insightful thinkers on the new economy of 'free', will address the audience on the model of 'giving it away' as a key business strategy for generating revenue. His thoughts on this business model align closely with the new concept of 'free-to-play' currently being pioneered in the online game world by Nexon..."

"We have been following Chris Anderson’s work on the economics of 'free' because we see it as the future of online business across the board," said Alex Garden, CEO of Nexon Publishing North America and Vancouver development studio, Humanature.

"Anderson is a technology thought leader in North America, and we are pleased to be able to bring him to Vancouver to share his thoughts with the larger international digital community at VIDFEST."

As Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine, author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, Chris Anderson is recognized as a knowledgeable voice at the centre of the new economy. His article, "Free: Why $0.00 is the Future of Business", published March 2008 in Wired is also the title of his new book.

"Free has emerged as a full-fledged economy driven by the underlying technologies that power the Web," said Anderson.

"A decade and a half into the great online experiment, the last debates over free versus pay online are ending. Free has proven to be a successful business model that works across digital sectors."

Following his presentation, Anderson will participate in a roundtable discussion with business leaders from across the digital media industries, hosted by Nexon.

With 250 million consumers worldwide, Nexon games have more players than any other massively multiplayer online games in the world. Nexon’s revenue model is based on 'microtransactions', a business model pioneered in 2001.

Players can download and play Nexon games for free, and purchase in-game items with either real cash or earn in-game cash by playing. Online microtransactions are challenging the traditional game industry model of selling individual games and consoles to consumers.

The fifth annual Vancouver International Digital Festival (VIDFEST) showcases the power of digital media to achieve altruistic goals, from tackling climate change to enabling entrepreneurs in the developing world.

"There's a positively charged atmosphere surrounding VIDFEST this year," says Kirstin Richter, creative director of VIDFEST.

VIDFEST 2008 takes place May 21-24 to lead Vancouver's Digital Week, which also features the Vancouver International Games Summit (VIGS), Convergence 2008 and the PopVox Awards.

"British Columbia is a leader in the global creative economy", says Kenton Low, president of New Media BC.

"We created Vancouver's Digital Week to bring together a portfolio of top events focusing on digital media and encourage cross pollination and collaboration to grow our vibrant creative industries"...