Weekly video games events agenda: GDC Canada, LOGIN, Dreamhack Skellefteå

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Among the video game events, expos and conferences of May and June 2010: The Game Developers Conference's Canadian event is in Vancouver, LOGIN's networking conference is in Seattle, and the increasingly popular Dreamhack Skellefteå gaming party is in northern Sweden.

Game Developers Conference Canada
May 6-7
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

No sooner than one GDC ends than the countdown to the next one begins. Eager ears will be listening out for talks on the rise of 'social' or mainstream gaming and any tidbits regarding the new motion controllers for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as Sony and Microsoft play catchup to Nintendo's Wii. Talks from bigwigs at Insomniac, Obsidian, IUGO and Zynga are already pencilled in. On-site registration is CDN$895 (€670) for all access, CDN$695 (€520) for the main conference, or CDN$149 (€110) for the career seminars only.
http://www.gdc-canada.com

LOGIN Conference
May 10-13
Seattle, Washington, USA

Aimed at company chiefs, vice-presidents, and directors, LOGIN's schedule is a mixture of development sessions, seminars, conferences and workshops and intends to provide an environment for those looking to make the most of networking opportunities. There are also 75 speakers confirmed including boffins from NCsoft, TrialPay, Real Networks, Slide Inc, Audiosurf, and Altus, various legal representatives and advisers, a corporate psychologist, and an addiction counselor.
http://www.loginconference.com

DreamHack Skellefteå V
May 13-15
Skellefteå, Sweden

DreamHack's main event is a summer gathering of gamers in Jönköping, Sweden, a mass celebration of PC-playing enthusiasm that started in a secondary school back in the 1990s and grew to become one of Northern Europe's largest video gaming parties. Now with a Winter event complementing the Summer meet since 2002, Skellefteå is the newest and smallest of the three, taking place in the remote and scenic northern Swedish city of the same name. Those intending to participate fully pay 399 SEK (€40) for a desk and access to a power outlet, net connection, sleeping area, tournaments (including Guitar Hero 5) and competitions, and money off at the local swimming baths.
http://www.dreamhack.se/dhskv

Games Beyond Entertainment
May 24-27
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The GBEW is an umbrella for seven other conferences and events taking place in Boston: The Games for Health Conference (May 26-27) which investigates the role of video games in physiotherapy and exercise; The Serious Games Festival & Conference (May 24) and its offshoot Out & About: The Mobile Serious Games Conference (May 25) examine the use of commercial and bespoke video games as learning tools; The Emerging Markets in Videogames Symposium (May 25) looks at new opportunities amongst emerging countries, demographics, and technologies, while there are also the Games Accessibility (May 25) and Virtual Worlds & Health days and practical bootcamps for those wanting to learn more about Serious Games Design & Development and iPhone Design & Production (both May 25). Registration costs from $199 up to $849 depending on the combination of events chosen.
http://www.gamesbeyondentertainment.com

Monetising Mobile
May 26
London, UK

Intent Media's Mobile Entertainment news service has booked out the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' Piccadilly address for this conference focusing on getting the most out of the mobile market. Speakers from Pearson (Penguin, Financial Times, Dorling Kindersley), Sky, and Samsung are scheduled to talk, as well as those from the Shazam music identification service, advertising platform AdMob, the Ustwo design company, the Scoreloop mobile gaming social network service, business analysts GamesBrief, and the cross-platform app store GetJar.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/events/219/Monetising-Mobile

Games Village, London MCM Expo
May 29-30
London, UK

The ExCel center at London's Royal Victoria Docks plays host to the twice-yearly MCM Expo, for this its 17th iteration. The Expo as a whole encompasses anime, manga, and other aspects of popular Japanese culture such as cosplay (dressing up as a favorite cartoon or video game character), and plenty of actors, artists and writers from sci-fi and fantasy franchises. The Games Village track usually manages to pull in playable demo pods for some of the hottest upcoming games and at MCM 17 there will be a Guinness World Record attempt as Nintendo DS owners congregate for what is hoped to be the Largest Handheld Game Console Party yet. The Dance Dance Revolution UK team will be there with a large selection of arcade and console games. Standard tickets to the MCM Expo cost £10 (€11.43) for adults (over 15s), £5 (€5.72) for 11-15s, and free for minors accompanied by an adult. Early entry tickets allow the holders access to the show floor up to two hours before the general public and cost £13 (€14.87) regardless of age.
http://www.londonexpo.com

Festival of Games
June 3-4
Utrecht, The Netherlands

Part conference, part expo, part careers fair, the Festival of Games held at
the Jaarbeurs convention center also features networking events and parties on both nights of the festival. Confirmed speakers include Alan Yu (iPhone game Rolando), Martin de Ronde (charity game foundation OneBigGame) David Perry ( Earthworm Jim, the Gaikai web-based game portal), and Professor Toru Iwatani, the inventor of video game granddaddy Pac Man. The conference's first day focuses on the past and present of video games, the second on business issues and future tech.
http://www.festivalofgames.nl