Ed Fries on the future of the games business: It’s like a ‘slow motion train wreck’

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It was all about gaming Thursday afternoon at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue as the sixth annual Power of Play event welcomed some compelling discussion from industry vets and crowned the first-place winner of the Seattle Independent Game Competition. Four industry veterans were on hand for a panel about the future of gaming. Industry legend… Read More…

Game experts debate: Is Microsoft Kinect a passing fad or here to stay?

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The gaming panel today at the WTIA’s TechNW conference featured some well-known names from the industry talking about a wide variety of trends and technologies: Bungie‘s Pete Parsons, veteran game designer Jordan Weisman, and Big Fish Games CEO Paul Thelen, moderated by former Microsoft games chief Ed Fries. One audience question toward the end, from Kevin… Read More…

Novel scores $1.6M, looks to transform how companies hire

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Novel Inc., a Redmond startup that uses game mechanics to help corporations hire more qualified employees, has raised $1.6 million in funding, according to a SEC filing released today. In an email to GeekWire, a company representative declined to comment. Founded in 2009 by Brayden William Blaine Olson, the company raised initial capital from former… Read More…

GeekWire Radio: Inside stories from former Microsoft games chief Ed Fries

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Our guest on this week’s GeekWire radio show and podcast is Ed Fries, the video-game guru and startup adviser who was the head of Microsoft’s games business during the development and rollout of the original Xbox and beyond. In this extended version of the interview, he tells some great stories about how he got into… Read More…