Largest Video Game Retailer Trade Show Set to Open in Huntington Beach, CA; Video Game Industry Descends Upon Surf City, Retail Trade Show Set to Run All Week

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.--The Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA), the trade group that represents the $10 billion computer and video game industry's leading retailers, is set to launch their annual conference, the IEMA Executive Summit (http://www.executivesummit.com), here in Huntington Beach today.


The show returns to Orange County after a year in Las Vegas, and brings with it the most influential executives from the game creation and selling sides of the fast-growing business.

"We're thrilled to be back in beautiful southern California, and especially excited to find such a good fit with our needs at the Hyatt Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. After hosting the Summit at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point for years, we outgrew that facility and had to relocate to Lake Las Vegas last year," said Hal Halpin, president of the IEMA. "Our community is a close-knit group and our event only invites 700 executives of the hundreds of thousands of folks in the industry, so it was important to find a venue which could adequately house all of our meeting and conference needs under one roof."

The Executive Summit is an unusual trade show in that it was designed to be a suite-style event, where more traditional expos are usually pipe-and-drape style booths. More importantly, the majority of all retail gaming decisions are made at this show.

"Approximately 60% of the games that will be available at retail this year will have been purchased at the Summit," stated Halpin, "and we are anxiously awaiting the results of the countless sales meetings that will determine the direction of the video game industry for '06 and beyond."

"We are pleased and honored that the IEMA chose our facility out of the forty west coast resort destinations up for consideration. Our staff understands the importance of this event and we are up for the challenge of meeting their needs," said Hyatt Huntington Beach General Manager, Cheryl Phleps.

New to the Summit this year are a host of activities sponsored by Spike TV and other game companies. The Summit also bought out the North Course of Pelican Hill with the top gaming executives mingling with celebrities and professional athletes, unwinding and doing "pre-deals" before the week's events.

In attendance will be executives from IEMA members such as Wal-Mart, Target, Blockbuster, and Circuit City as well as senior management from vendor companies including Microsoft, Activision, Electronic Arts, THQ and Take Two Interactive. Approximately 700 professionals spend the three days in one-on-one merchandising meetings.

For more information regarding the IEMA Executive Summit, please visit http://www.executivesummit.com.

About the IEMA:

The Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA) is the non-profit trade association dedicated to serving the business interests of leading retailers that sell interactive entertainment software (including video and computer games, multimedia entertainment, peripherals and other software). Member companies of the IEMA collectively account for approximately seventy-five percent of the $10.4 billion annual interactive entertainment business in the United States. (http://www.iema.org)