The 2008 ScreenBurn Festival
March 7 - 11, 2008
Austin, Texas

EA announced this week that their exclusive contract with the National Football League and NFL PLAYERS to develop, publish and distribute interactive football video games has been extended through the end of the 2012 season. “This is all about bringing authenticity and realism to NFL videogames,” said Eric Grubman, President of NFL Ventures. “EA SPORTS continually works to maintain the cutting edge for NFL products across a variety of gaming platforms. We like the fact that they never rest.” Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS said of the agreement, “We are excited about the opportunity to extend and expand our relationships with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS.” In an interview with GameDaily, Moore was quick to point out that “this deal was at the NFL’s directive. They wanted to have an exclusive arrangement.” The original five-year agreement, signed in 2004, came after the NFL put out an open call for bids on the exclusive license. The agreements with the NFL and its player association, negotiated separately, provide EA continued rights to NFL teams, stadiums and players, as well as access to both NFL Films and the NFL Network. On a side note, EA’s Madden NFL franchise, a consistent best seller with over $2 in retail sales, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Electronic Arts has announced that development guru Will Wright’s heavily anticipated sim-universe game Spore will finally hit stores this September, reports Gamasutra. While game-conference demonstrations of Spore tantalize audiences and the blogosphere, the game’s original March release date was pushed back to ensure the game got the right finishing touches on graphics and “pollinated content” social networking options, according to Wright. Does September 7th sound too far away for your first taste of Spore? EA will release a standalone Creature Editor on an as-yet-unannounced date that nevertheless promises to be well before the full game launch. For more insight from Will Wright, visit the SXSW Podcast Page to hear Wright’s SXSW 2007 Interactive keynote speech, in which he discusses the development and ideas behind Spore.

Roto-Rooter is bringing back their “Pimped-Out Powder Room” sweepstakes, reports Game|Life. This time, it’s a gadget-stacked loo designed for the discerning lady gamer, complete with a Wii, a Sony Vaio, and a flat-screen TV. The fact that the walls are Pepto-pink and there’s an issue of Flowers in the magazine rack makes us suspect that a man designed the bathroom, but at least someone recognized that a ridiculously over-the-top bathroom full of tech toys might appeal to just as many women as men. Plopping down in front of the Vaio and soaking one’s toes in the pedi-bath would surely be an ideal way to unwind after SXSW Interactive’s What Women Need to Succeed panel.

SXSW Interactive is excited to welcome the Championship Gaming Series as an official sponsor of the 2008 ScreenBurn Arcade. The ScreenBurn Arcade will run Saturday and Sunday, March 8th and 9th, from 12:00 to 6:00 PM, during the 2008 SXSW ScreenBurn Festival. Free and open to the public, the Arcade is an open platform of exhibitors and game tournaments that offers a hands-on environment for consumers, independents, developers, and soon to be masters of the game world. This year CGS, the only worldwide professional video gaming league, will hold its 2008 North American Combine and Draft at the 2008 SXSW ScreenBurn Arcade and will broadcast the event on DirectTV. You won’t want to miss the exciting action as top gamers from the U.S. and Canada vie for one of ten spots on six teams: L.A. compLexity, Chicago Chimera, Carolina Core, San Francisco Optx, New York 3D, and Dallas Venom. A joint venture among BSkyB, DIRECTV and STAR, CGS is broadcast to more than 350 million viewers and features teams of the world’s best gamers from five continents.

What happens at ScreenBurn? When is it? How do I register to attend? What exactly is the ScreenBurn Arcade? Is it true that the Arcade is free and open to the public? Got questions about ScreenBurn and SXSW Interactive? Well we’ve got the answers! Check out our FAQ page for the answers to these questions and more. Don’t see your question on the list? Still confused about ScreenBurn and SXSW Interactive? No worries. E-mail us with all your questions and we will provide quick answers.

Friday, February 8, is the last day to save $50 on the already low SXSW Interactive Festival walk-up registration fee of $450.00. That’s right, register by the end of day tomorrow for only $400! In addition to all the great Screenburn programming, your Interactive Registration gives you five days of panel programming, three days of Trade Show and five nights of exciting evening events. Such a bargain!

Register online by clicking here. This page also has information on upgrading your badge to Gold (which gets you into SXSW Film, as well as SXSW Interactive) or to Platinum (which gets you into SXSW Music and SXSW Film, as well as SXSW Interactive.

SXSW still has hundreds of hotel rooms available for Interactive registrants. Although most the closest hotels within walking distance of the Convention Center are sold out, Austin is a fairly compact city. Even the furthest hotels on our list are only ten minutes away by taxi or rent car.

Browse the most current list of options on the Hotel Page. We still have enough options to suit every budget from deluxe to budget. When you register via the SXSW website you will be able to book your hotel via the online interface. And, if you still have questions, contact the SXSW Housing Desk by phone 512-467-7979 or by e-mail. We are here to help you!

You’ve played it. You’ve conquered it. You’re done with it. Now what do you do with your old games? Cheapassgamers.com has an idea. The CAG “Donate Games to the Troops in Iraq” Campaign. “No matter your stance on the war in Iraq, I think we can all agree that our soldiers have a very rough time over there, “ says CAG member Shane Neuhaus, Storekeeper First Class with the US Navy currently deployed in Fallujah. Neuhaus is spearheading the effort to collect used (and new) games for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and DS to distribute amongst his fellow troops. For more information about where and how to send your donations, check the posting on Cheapassgamers.com.

Second Skin, the new documentary about the lives of MMO players, has been garnering a healthy amount of curious buzz in the gaming blogosphere. Wired’s Game|Life recently posted a Second Skin trailer, noting that the film’s subject matter “hits so close to home that I almost have to see this film.” Meanwhile, a Kotaku writer eschewed that site’s normally more acerbic tone to confess that “I see a bit of myself in the film’s subjects. In the past I’ve spent weeks at a time rolling out of bed into my computer chair (if I even made it to bed) and immediately logging into Everquest…and yeah - I’ve fallen in love online as well” (a phenomenon Second Skin promises to explore in-depth, if the trailer is any indication.) Second Skin will debut at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival, while the SXSW Interactive + ScreenBurn festivals will feature cutting-edge discussion aplenty about the nature of MMOS and virtual worlds: Human And Property Rights in Virtual Worlds; The Future Virtual World & Game Development: Rise of the Indies; and of course, Sexual Ethics, Interactivity and Virtual Worlds.

SXSW + Austin Community College’s High Technology Institute + the Digital Media Council present: “For Hire: What Game Companies Are Looking For.”

“For Hire: What Game Companies Are Looking For,” a free Breaking into the Industry seminar and mixer, will be held Wednesday, February 6 from 7-9pm at Jo’s Coffee Downtown in Austin, Texas, located at 242 West Second Street. Mingle with known members of the local industry as they share their knowledge about how to take your next career step in the gaming business. Mike McShaffry will be giving a presentation, along with other reputable industry experts engaging in a Q&A to include Warren Spector, representatives from BioWare, and more.

It might come as a surprise to some that Texas has a thriving video/online game industry, with at least 70 video game development companies calling the Lone Star State home. Based mostly around Austin and Dallas, giants such as Blizzard Entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment, BioWare Corp., Amaze Entertainment and Ncsoft (as well as a host of smaller, independent development companies) all have offices in Texas. “Austin was already what I would describe as well-primed for this industry,” says Richard Garriott, co-founder of the now defunct Origin Systems and current head of Destination Games, “Prior to gaming we already had high-tech companies like IBM, 3M, Texas Instruments, National Instruments, Samsung, Advance Micro Devices and Dell. And Austin has always had a thriving music and arts community… we had programmers, artists and developers beating down our door wanting to join what they immediately recognized as a big part of the future.” So serious is Texas about it’s gaming industry, that when the state legislature passed a set of film production incentives last spring, it included incentives for in-state video or computer game projects. While the program, intended to give Texas a competitive edge over New Mexico and Louisiana, does come with some restrictions over violent and ‘obscene’ content, many developers see it as a positive move for the Texas market. Rodney Gibbs, an exec with Austin-based Amaze Entertainment, says that the incentive program “is helping to overcome that stigma we still suffer from: ‘Oh, games; that’s shooting people.’ That’s just like saying all films are Quentin Tarantino films.”

Be sure to check out Rodney Gibbs’ 2008 SXSW Interactive panel You’re the Pawn, Sucker: a Google Maps-Nintendo Mash-up.