Evergreen Events has announced that its online focused event, OGDC, has been retitled the Ion Game Conference, set to take place in Seattle from May 13th to May 15th, 2008. This year's theme will be "redefining online," which the organizer says corresponds with an increased global focus for the event.

The company says 20 percent of attendees for last year's event were from outside the United States, representing countries such as Korea, Germany, Japan and Australia. With the aim of addressing a broader worldwide audience, Evergreen says that social networking, virtual worlds and multiple platforms beyond the PC will be a core focus for the ION Game Conference.

The company says its current deadlines for Ion remain on schedule, with the call for speakers set to close January 21st. Last year's topics included "Automating Online Game Balance”, “The Chinese Game Market: Latest Developments and Trends”, and “Secrets and Challenges of Localizing and Monetizing Different IP: Real World Cases” with speakers including Sony Online Entertainment's Alan Crosby, 38 Studios' Brett Close, and Disney Online's Mike Goslin.

Said conference director Peter Freese, “At Evergreen Events, we wanted a new identity that represented what we offer with our conference: unsurpassed networking opportunities and unique sessions and panels you cannot find anywhere else, among hundreds of like-minded online game industry veterans from around the world. Ion best symbolizes these qualities.”