July 15 -16 will bring together some of the biggest names in videogame publishing for “First Playable”. It will incorporate the IVGAs and Nintendo Italia Indie World Summit in one big event. Having already announced its transition to digital for the 2020 edition, the Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association (IIDEA), has finally lifted the lid on what attendees can expect from the second annual First Playable. Italy’s leading international B2B gaming event. IIDEA is also delighted to announce that Epic Games’ Unreal Engine will be the Platinum Sponsor for First Playable’s Digital Debut show.
Major publishers like Electronic Arts, Xbox, Nintendo of Europe, SEGA, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, and Ubisoft all confirmed to be in attendance. First Playable’s Digital Debut will run online for two days between 15 and 16 July 2020 and will also include post-show talks from games as diverse as Open Lab’s Football Drama, to TORI by Xplored and many many more. In addition to the Nintendo Italia Indie World Summit and the Italian Video Game Awards.
The first day of Italy’s premier B2B digital summit for the sector also comprises the Nintendo Italia Indie World Summit. The summit will explore the theme of cinematic video games, using case studies, leanings, and anecdotes from GhostShark Games (Still There), LKA (The Town of Light, Martha is Dead), and Stormwind Games (Remothered: Tormented Fathers, Remothered: Broken Porcelain).
First Playable will also be the home for the eighth annual Italian Video Game Awards on the evening of Wednesday 15th July at 8 pm BST / 9 pm CET. The event will be streamed online via IIDEA’s website and their Facebook and YouTube channel and will be presented by the British hosting duo, Julia Hardy and Aoife Wilson. IIDEA are also excited to share the nominees 2020’s Awards for the first time.
The Nominations are:Best Debut Game
Daymare: 1998 (Invader Studios)
Football Drama (Open Lab)
Dry Drowning (Studio V)
Best Innovation
Football Drama (Open Lab)
MotoGP19 (Milestone)
Pride Run (IV Productions)
Secret Oops! (MixedBag)
Still There (GhostShark Games)
Best Italian Game
Assetto Corsa Competizione (Kunos Simulazioni)
Close to the Sun (Storm in a Teacup)
Daymare: 1998 (Invader Studios)
Super Cane Magic ZERO (Studio Evil)
The Suicide of Rachel Foster (One O One Games)
Awards for Outstanding Individual Contribution and Outstanding Italian Company will also be given out during the evening’s showcase. Both First Playable 2020 and the IVGAs will serve as a showcase for the Italian video games industry. Highlighting the learnings of the country’s leading studios and acting as a bridge to their peers across Europe and, indeed, the wider world.
Thalita Malagò, General Secretary at IIDEA adds, “Though transitioning First Playable to a digital event for its second run was always going to be a challenge, we’re really excited about the people we’ve pulled together and we can’t wait to see the connections people make this time around, just as they did in Pisa in 2019.”
Stefania Ippoliti, Director of the Toscana Film Commission commented, “With less than a month to go until the second edition of First Playable in Pisa, we look forward to welcoming Italian game developers, International game publishers, and investors for an exciting two days of dialogue, experience sharing, and business. Tuscany is online and waiting to welcome you!”Antonio Farina – Founder of Milestone, CEO at Reludo, and CEO at Rortos with more than 30 years of experience in the industry.
Gian Paolo Vernocchi – CEO & Creative Director at DESTINYbit, with more than 12 years of experience in the industry.
Lorenzo Grimaldi – Developer Relations at Nvidia. Grimaldi was previously the head of PlayStation’s Strategic Content and has worked with hundreds of developers and, with the support of his team, signed and delivered over 120 games.
Marco Colombo – Head of Development at Pixion Games, a London startup that was recently founded with a seed round of $2 million.
Mauro Fanelli – CEO & Creative Director at MixedBag, with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. He founded one of the first online games magazines in Italy and, in 2013, he also founded MixedBag studio.
For more information please visit the IIDEA website at www.iideassociation.com.
