Valve President Headlines Thursday D.I.C.E. Summit Conference

CALABASAS, Calif., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences is pleased to announce that Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve Corporation, will be the 17^th inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame, and will be taking the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit stage as its Thursday conference keynote.  Gabe's leadership in founding and managing Valve, creator of Source™ game engine, Steam, and award-winning game franchises like Half-Life®, Counter Strike™, Left 4 Dead™, Portal™, and Team Fortress™ have done much to push the interactive entertainment industry forward.

The AIAS Hall of Fame honor is bestowed on game creators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward. These individuals demonstrate the highest level of creativity and innovation, resulting in significant product influence on a scale that expands the scope of the industry. The 2013 Hall of Fame Award will be presented to Gabe by Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps, who serves on the AIAS board of directors and the AIAS awards committee, at the 16^th D.I.C.E. Awards on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas. Past AIAS Hall of Fame recipients include: Tim Sweeney (2012), Dr. Greg Zeschuk (2011), Dr. Ray Muzyka (2011), Mark Cerny (2010), and Bruce Shelley (2009). 

"Gabe is one of the most cherished and respected figures in the industry not only for his technological innovations in advancing many of today's highly successful video games, but also for his unique stance towards leadership and management," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.  "Gabe's vision for the interactive industry has created lasting effects that have completely reshaped this generation's digital distribution model, paving the way for independent developers and creating an invaluable service for consumers. It is a great honor to have Gabe inducted into the Academy's Hall of Fame."

"Gabe is a living legend of the video games industry, and his relentless focus on customer experience has made our whole industry a better place," said Capps.  "Valve's unconventional success is an inspiration for us all, and I couldn't be more pleased to present Gabe's Hall of Fame award."      

Before starting Valve in August 1996, Gabe held a number of positions in the Systems, Applications and Advanced Technology divisions at Microsoft, where he worked for 13 years. His responsibilities included running program management for the first two releases of Windows, starting the company's multimedia division, and leading the company's efforts on the "Information Highway PC."

Valve's debut title, Half-Life, released in 1998, earned over 50 Game of the Year Awards and was named "Best PC Game Ever" in the November 1999, October 2001, and April 2005 issues of PC Gamer. Valve's portfolio of games has since grown to include Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat™, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress®. Since 1999 Valve has accumulated many accolades from the AIAS, with 20 Interactive Achievement Awards for Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Portal, Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead.   Valve's portfolio of games accounts for over 70 million retail units sold worldwide.

In addition to producing best-selling entertainment titles, Valve is a developer of leading-edge technologies, such as the Source game engine and Steam, a broadband platform for the delivery and management of digital content with over 50 million accounts.

Submissions for the 16^th D.I.C.E. Award nominations are now open. Winners will be announced at the D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on February 7, 2013, at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. For the complete list of categories and to download a submission packet, visit www.interactive.org.

Registration for the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit and the 16^th D.I.C.E. Awards is currently open. Register until November 16, 2012 to get the early registration pricing at www.dicesummit.org.

About the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences:

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote, advance and recognize the outstanding achievements in the interactive entertainment industry worldwide. The Academy conducts its annual awards show, the D.I.C.E. Awards, to celebrate and honor creative accomplishments in the field. To further enhance awareness of the Academy's vision, the organization created the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit in 2002, a once yearly conference dedicated to exploring approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as they uniquely apply to the development of interactive entertainment.  With more than 22,000 members, including Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Google, Bethesda Game Studios, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Double Fine, Gearbox Software, Nexon and Insomniac Games, among others. More information can be found at http://www.interactive.org and http://www.dicesummit.org.  Follow the Academy on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+.

SOURCE Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences