GameOn Finance, organized by Interactive Ontario, recently took place in Toronto. It was the first gaming event I attended, and although I knew it was business oriented, I didn’t know quite what to expect.

GameOn Finance took place inside an awesome building that used to serve as the Toronto Stock Exchange.

There weren’t any publishers at GameOn Finance, but it was still an incredibly useful experience. I returned home with 50+ business cards given to me by everyone from freelance contractors to venture capitalists. Along the way, I also made a few notes:

• Although there are some Venture Capital firms that target game companies, those are few and far between. VC deals are usually based on networking and connections, and rarely happen as a result of direct pitches from unknown sources. The amounts of money involved are also very large and not really suitable for small startups.
• Angel Investors are a better bet, but even they expect to control large chunk of the company and receive a return of 3-10 times their original investment. For a list of AIs, check out this link.

A shot of the 1-on-1 meetings. I had a few of these myself, including a rather interesting chat Jason Della Rocca.

• Digital distribution is still growing and is seen as somewhat more stable than social and mobile gaming. Investors are excited about the possibilities of Facebook games thanks to the success of Zynga and Playfish, but are a bit wary of the bubble bursting. The mobile side of things is still mostly a mess, and even though the iPhone has been a huge success, its marketplace is very congested and therefore not that appealing.
• “Advergaming” is not really viable right now, and even the biggest online games only generate 7-8% of their revenue from ads. Smaller developers even mentioned that they stopped using ads altogether as their returns were too small to justify them.
• Locally in Ontario, OMDC is still the go-to organization for videogame related grants and tax returns, while Telefilm is currently restructuring but will return as part of the Canada New Media Fund. This should create a pretty significant work-for-hire market for developers interested in teaming up with TV IP holders.
• Mobile Capital Network provides consulting and aid in preparing tax returns and pitching for the above grants/funds. We will definitely be taking advantage of their services.
• Serious Games and the BREW-based Zeebo are seen as two promising venues for developers and publishers alike.
• EEDAR is a market research firm that not only helps publisher plan their releases, but can also aid developers with data for their pitches.

A shot of me at the after party. I'm pretty sure I asked for it too, but I wasn't expecting an extreme close-up.

Of course that’s not all that was mentioned at the event, but I think it’s a pretty good overview.

Oh, and for more photos, check out IO’s Flickr page!