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IICON 2026: A New Era for Interactive Innovation
44 Plays14 days ago
📅 Guest: Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & CEO, Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
🎤 Hosts: Greg Posner & Lewis Ward (IDC)
Episode Summary
In this episode, we sit down with Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), to discuss the launch of IICON 2026, a brand-new conference redefining the future of interactive entertainment.
On today’s episode, we’re joined by our co-host, Lewis Ward from IDC! Lewis was a guest on the podcast a few months ago, and now he’s back, this time helping to drive the conversation with insightful questions and fresh perspectives.
IICON is set to take place in April 2026 at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas and aims to bring together leaders from gaming, film, television, sports, finance, healthcare, and more to explore the transformative impact of interactive entertainment.
Key Takeaways from the Episode
⏳ [01:03] – Why IICON is being created and how it differs from E3
⏳ [02:24] – How gaming technology is reshaping industries beyond entertainment
⏳ [03:43] – Industry giants already on board: Amazon, Disney, Microsoft, Sony & more
⏳ [06:09] – The role of sports, healthcare, and education in gaming’s evolution
⏳ [09:18] – What ESA hopes IICON will accomplish in 5+ years
⏳ [16:52] – Lessons learned from E3’s sunset and how IICON will fill the gap
Why You Should Listen
If you’re an executive in gaming, entertainment, sports, or emerging tech, this episode is a must-listen. Learn how IICON will shape the future of interactive entertainment and why it’s a game-changer for business leaders.
📍 Learn More & Register: IICON.com
📍 Lewis Ward - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewis-ward-77b7696/
📍 IDC Website: The premier global market intelligence firm
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Special Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
Today we have a special episode that we're dropping for you on a Thursday. We have a very special news to announce and we are honored to be one of the ones breaking it to you. So for today's episode, I'm co-hosted this episode by Lewis Ward. He's the XR and gaming research analyst at the IDC. And we are joined by Stanley Pierre-Louis. He is the CEO of the ESA, the Entertainment Software
ESA's Role and Industry Event Announcement
00:00:25
Speaker
Association. And they have a new announcement that they are making And here it is. Enjoy the episode.
00:00:35
Speaker
Hey, everyone. Welcome to Player Driven. Today we have a really cool episode. We are joined by Stanley Pierre-Louis and Louis Ward from the IDC. Stanley is from the ESA, and they have a special announcement they're going to make. So Stanley, I'm just going to give it over to you. and Thanks so much. I appreciate you having me on today. ah We at the Entertainment Software Association are always excited to represent our industry in the most powerful ways. We do it every day.
00:00:59
Speaker
in Washington and in the States to advocate for policies that benefit our industry. And we also do it every day with other leaders and with the media to make sure that people understand the power of games.
Introducing ICON: A New Industry Conference
00:01:11
Speaker
One of the things that a site says is that interactive entertainment is a transformative force advancing innovations that are shaping our culture, our business, and really creating human connection. And video games have this way of bringing us together in ways that demonstrate the power of technology and creativity while also creating the power of connection. There has never been an event that brings together the change makers from across industries on the strengths that interactive entertainment bring and that showcase how interactive entertainment
00:01:44
Speaker
can propel growth and really redefine what's possible. That's why we're excited to announce the launch of ICON, or the Interactive Innovation Conference. It's a first of its kind event designed to connect visionaries, thought leaders, and innovators from across industries to harness the power of interactive entertainment. We're looking to not only bring people from the video game industry, but also film, television, music, as well as sports, finance, health, education, and more.
00:02:14
Speaker
And what we have found in talking about interactive entertainment ah to all these groups is that it's become vital to how they create their businesses, how they create their tools, and how they reach their customers, their patients, and really all of their audiences. So we're very excited about having this ah event occur. It will launch in April of 2026 at the Fountain Blue Resort in Las Vegas. And we're excited to announce that We have 11 iconic companies that will be part of the initial launch of this event that include Amazon Games, Disney, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Sony Active Entertainment, Square Enix, Take Two, Ubisoft, and Warner Brothers. That's just the start. As we roll out this announcement and speak to more companies from various sectors, we'll be announcing more. And you can learn more at icon dot.com. That's I
Developing ICON: Structure and Themes
00:03:06
Speaker
-I-C-O-N dot.com.
00:03:08
Speaker
A natural question is cropped up in my mind when you were describing it is, should we think about this event? You might have a video game tracker or kind of focus, but then you might have a ah another one focused on TV, video, another one focused on music. But at the end of the day, the point will be that depending on which you know industry or lane you're already in,
00:03:31
Speaker
they'll be talking about common themes across them, or I guess I'm trying to get my arms around, you know, this broad 10 understanding of interactive entertainment um when the event goes on in, I guess, April, 2026. Is there any description of either, you know, how many people are gonna be there, the number of tracks, or in any any description you can give us color on, you know, what will actually happen at the show or is that all TBD? Well, we're excited about announcing more of it on our website, icon.com,
00:03:59
Speaker
and we'll have more information about it. We're also developing this because so far we've introduced this to our members within our industry once we announce the conference will be able to go out to the other industries and talk to them about what role they might play. But some of what you're talking about is exactly what we're thinking is that ah there are ah several companies focused on sports and games and how do we engage them. But health care as well. you know When you think about film and television, you know the adaptations that companies have made ah from
00:04:33
Speaker
video game content to successful ah box office ah releases and streaming successes really comes from more people appreciating and understanding the content and the audience around it. So when you look at Fallout or Mortal Kombat or the Super Mario Brothers movie, which was a huge success ah in in the box office,
00:04:56
Speaker
You see film developers who either grew up playing or understanding and appreciating what games are, and they're bringing it to their disciplines. And the same is true as you look at other industries, whether you're talking about education, where 75% of teachers actually use some sort of digital game-based learning for their lessons planned. And you can look to you know specific games that are made for learning, or games that have been adapted like the Minecraft Education Edition or Assassin's Creed, which also has an Education Edition. Or you can look at how the medical field has looked to games either to help train doctors perform surgeries through VR and AR, or how video games are used
00:05:43
Speaker
to address certain health conditions like ADHD or Alzheimer's. So the list goes on with various disciplines and how they're looking to use video games in ways that enhance what they're doing. Part of it is when you gamify um a practice, it becomes ah more exciting and easier to remember.
00:06:01
Speaker
and people engage with it in a very specific way. ah But also um it brings in the innovations that more and more people are using every day.
ICON's Goals and Gaming's Cross-Sector Influence
00:06:10
Speaker
And one of the things we've noticed is as executives are starting to become in senior roles, just as we're seeing here in Washington DC with members of Congress, there are many people who grew up playing games and their understanding and appreciation of the art form is exciting, but so is their understanding of how it can be used to advance other priorities and goals they may have as organizations or institutions. Yeah, it's funny. I love hearing what you're saying. you know It all goes back to this new theme of transmedia and having you know video games impact other forms of media as well. I think back to like 10, 15 years ago, and even though when Candy Crush came out, then all of a sudden my mom became a gamer, right? And I never thought
00:06:49
Speaker
She would be a gamer. And then you start thinking, how do we keep growing the gaming industry? What ah what else do we need to do? And you start thinking about, well, let's build out on transmedia. Let's write stories. Let's create movies. And Fallout's a great example. My wife will never play Fallout, but she loves the show, right? And all of a sudden you're creating new fans in this new way of kind of getting them to engage in the gaming world.
00:07:12
Speaker
yeah you know Every great gaming conference leaves a lasting impact on this on the attendees. E3 consumers love seeing the games and being able to see what's going on. um When people look back at ICON five years from now, what do you hope they say it accomplished? are you What legacy do you want to leave behind?
00:07:31
Speaker
First of all, we want it to go on for five, 10, and 15 years, so that's a great legacy in and of itself. But what we really want people to take away is the impact and power that interactive entertainment is having and can have on their industries. We don't want it overlooked or thought of as something that's not the core of what they do because in many ways it really is. They think in terms of interactivity more and more. And so I think if we see other industry leaders thinking about and talking about and proselytizing about the impact of air interactive entertainment, that's gonna be an important component of success for us because the point of this cross collaboration among industries is to not only showcase but to create opportunities for collaboration
00:08:16
Speaker
And for some of them, for revenue growth, for investment opportunities. And so if we're creating a form where executives and the audience members want to continue to come, that means that we've hit on the right formula for reaching as broad an audience as possible. you a lot of the um the current ah video game industry ah gatherings ah are really targeting a video game audience in some way, whether it's the player community ah or ah some to some extent thought leaders, game developers, but none of them really pans out to say how can we bring others in and how do we make
00:08:56
Speaker
ourselves part of that conversation. And video games have had an enormous impact. And this is one way to really showca showcase it because people are always surprised at how many people play games or or um or how it's impacting the way that ah they live their lives. you know i you know I've talked to, um you know you talked about the Candy Crush example and your mom playing games. ah So ah we were talking to a government official who was also surprised to learn that his mother played Candy Crush because they were in a waiting room waiting for a doctor's appointment. And when they got to the doctor's appointment, it was physical therapy. And they were using ah that technology where you know you're moving your hands, trying to land a plane, that technology that involves infrared reading of the hands, oh yeah gamifying the physical therapy.
00:09:45
Speaker
And he just thought about the whole fact that his mom is all involved in games, both for fun and waiting room and for her therapy. And they're not thinking of that as a game, but they're really gamifying all the things that they're doing. That gets us not only more credibility, but a seat at the table in so many other forums.
Technology and Cultural Impact of Gaming
00:10:03
Speaker
um I might call that Connect, but I think Connect is long gone. Connect is long gone, but it was that one was in fact the Connect technology. Wow, it's still around. That's amazing.
00:10:11
Speaker
Yeah, some people use it, yeah. So yeah, I was trying to reconnect that guy, so thanks for for calling it out. Yeah, no worries, no worries, that's what it sounded like. ah So I cover, partially today, XR. I used to cover, you know, my my purview was really games for a long time, and over the past couple years, it's evolved to include XR and interactive 3D software, gets into the Metaverse, gets into, you know, Epic Games being used in, you know, non-gaming industries, or Unity being used in non-gaming industries, things like that, that you mentioned.
00:10:37
Speaker
But specific to XR, I didn't see in the press release. And I guess I'm trying to double click on maybe out of Vandy for what I cover now. But the XR angle, right? The mixed reality, augmented reality, extended reality, ah ah old school virtual, ride whatever it is, I guess. um And a few of the companies, Sony's in there. Nintendo had Labo. I mean, Microsoft was kind of in and out. But I guess, is there any color you can add in terms of interactive entertainment and the scope of it and maybe maybe it involves the non-gaming stuff. I think you mentioned, um was it hospitals or or doctors using it to do surgery or do something else with it, rehab, things like this. But can you add any more color in terms of at least the the early sketches
00:11:22
Speaker
ah For what icon can do in terms of bringing in XR? ah is Is it a conscious part of it or is it something where you know? We've got a lot of other big fish to fry and so if that comes along great, but it's not something we're actually you know thinking about how do we? um You know put in a track or whatever and obviously a follow-on question would be Meta being the leader there, right? Or Apple being a leader in mixed reality, for example, or at least one of them. um I didn't see them mentioned on the on the on the list. i maybe they're they're you know Maybe they'll come along, but I guess I'm curious about um you know industry buy-in as well for for what you may be trying to build with Icon. Sure. First, with respect to the question about XR, VR, mixed reality,
00:12:06
Speaker
and and just thinking about what might get discussed here. We're at the early stages. We've only spoken about this conference to our member companies, but once we do the public announcement, we certainly want to reach out to other industries and to talk about the various topics they might be interested in. And so I expect that you know the use of technologies in mixed reality in some way, shape, or form will form a part of the conversation. It's not currently there only because we're still ah figuring out the programming. ah But we are excited about the opportunity to talk about all things tech. And as we talked about before, like this ahll we'll just call it XR to cover it all for now. So I don't have to say all of them.
00:12:47
Speaker
um you know It's being used, as I mentioned before, of with um you know surgical training. It's also being used with astronauts who are practicing to get onto the International Space Station and to get used to the various components. ah It's used with ah new onboarding employees at Walmart, at UPS. So we're seeing its uses in so many different ways. And one of the things people don't appreciate about the video game industry is we end up being drivers of a lot of technologies because we have early adopters in our industry trying things out. We have a very digital audience, always have. And even if we didn't create the technology, we certainly try to meet consumers where they are.
ICON's Development Post-E3
00:13:31
Speaker
And so we democratize a lot of technologies and make them accessible to people because
00:13:36
Speaker
When you can play a game on it, it opens up new opportunities. So I would expect that these types of innovations would certainly be welcomed as we start to develop ah our programming. And certainly the leaders in those spaces, ah we will seek to have join us as part of that conversation. Because if you want to have this conversation at the highest levels and in the most robust ways, you want to bring the leaders in that space. So we expect to do a lot of outreach. And that would be certainly one of the areas that would be exciting from a programming standpoint.
00:14:04
Speaker
I have a question that you've probably already kind of answered already, and I just wanted to ask again in different ways. you know Years ago, and I don't think kids realize these days how big of an impact E3 was for gamers in the industry. I remember everyone just time tuning into online or to G4, whatever they could watch at the time to see what was going on at E3. And since E3 is gone, we've been replaced with things in conferences like GDC and Gamescom and PAX, and we've all these different events here or there.
00:14:31
Speaker
You're in this unique position where you get to build ICON of in this new conference. And I feel like that's a lot of gamers' dreams come true. It's like, oh my goodness, what can I do? like When you first start thinking about it, what is that thought process like like? Are there specific items you know you want to discuss, or do you just kind of ballpark it with the member companies that you work with to say, hey, what would bring you back to the table to do this again?
00:14:54
Speaker
Well, one of the things we learned through the exercise of sunsetting E3 was what wasn't working. And in large part, what we saw was more opportunities for our member companies and really the the industry writ large to reach consumers in new and exciting ways. They could reach them digitally, they could reach them through consumer events ah and and they could reach them through um third parties and in different and exciting ways. And so the value of E3 of having and an annual event with a show floor ah that was meant to broadcast to the world ah diminished for their for their purposes. We also recognized in the wake of that, particularly because of COVID, um that there were other opportunities
00:15:42
Speaker
companies had to reach these audiences, very specific audiences. So if you wanted, you mentioned some of the consumer shows, you mentioned some of the thought leadership pieces, the Game Developers Conference on on talking about game development. Each of those really fed a different need for the industry, but there were two things we noticed. One is each of them spoke to the video game audience that they were trying to identify. They didn't speak to a broad audience. They were very specific about the audience they were trying to reach.
00:16:10
Speaker
The other is they're almost exclusively inviting video game um industry people, whether it's the the player community or the speakers. And there were a few that have started inviting ah different industries to speak to the video game audience. But again, they're speaking to the video game audience. So that was the second thing we noticed is that each of those was a narrow band to an audience that knew a lot about us and from a marketing standpoint, understood um what they needed. The third piece was
00:16:45
Speaker
what's the opportunity to expand the understanding of what interactive entertainment is? How do we blow the roof off of this to really showcase the impact that it has had and bring together not only the industry, but others, right? And so you had these components that were missing and we felt like we were in a unique position to bring together you know the video game audience leadership, well, the video game leadership to speak about interactive entertainment in broader ways and to invite others to be a part of that conversation.
Personal Gaming Experiences of Stanley Pierre-Louis
00:17:17
Speaker
And those sounded at like exciting opportunities. um And I think that's what led to the tremendous support we received from ah the 11 companies that are on board already to support and participate in ICON. Awesome. Thank you for that. And real quick, what game are you playing right now?
00:17:38
Speaker
So well, so I will tell you that my son started college recently and he was very big on ah Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. So there was a lot of that being played in the house while he was home. ah But we also enjoyed a lot of other games, you know, Madden NFL.
00:17:57
Speaker
ah You know, MLB The Show, Forza, and ah really excited about the upcoming Civ 7, which is, I think, coming out in a month or two.
00:18:09
Speaker
Um, so that should be exciting. So I'm trying to broaden the palette now that my super smash, uh, uh, player, uh, is, is not occupying the screens and the time and and all of those things, but just a lot of games, you know, if, you know, my, my playing tends to be games I can get in and out of because my time is so limited. So something like street fighter, you can get right in, do the damage or get damaged and leave. I've tried playing the open world games, but those just require.
00:18:38
Speaker
um more time than, unfortunately, I have right now. Even even as an empty nester, it's it's hard to to be able to really navigate all the open world games. So I tend to get you know into games that I can You know, enjoy in the moment that I can, and in the time that I have, and then pivot. That's awesome. You mentioned sports, and I guess earlier on, or in the press release, you mentioned sports as being one of the markets where um you think there's an opportunity here. And obviously there's the crossover video games you just mentioned. ah Most of those are sports genres, so I'm going to assume you and your son are big sports fans of what team, or what you're predicting the Super Bowl, I won't ask.
00:19:12
Speaker
ah But in terms of what you want to do with ICON, what can can you clarify at all how how you envision sports feeding into that as one you know vector of interactive entertainment that, you know again, we have the video games, but what other aspects do can you imagine there being some synergy with the companies that are part of the ESA, et cetera?
00:19:32
Speaker
Sure, sure. ah You know, sports is an interesting lens through which to view interactive entertainment. First of all, you have a series of sports that have been used and licensed for games. Right. And so there's a tremendous audience for games like NBA 2K or or Madden NFL, NHL 2K.
00:19:54
Speaker
MLB the show. So you've got a series of sports related games that people enjoy. So for the sports industry, that actually expands their audience. They're able to address people out of season in exciting ways and to excite them every year with the new season, with new players and ah new affiliations, new playbooks, what have you. So that drives a certain amount of audience for them. If you watch any of the behind the scenes around some of the sports shows, ah you also begin to see that so many kids who play video games and get into sports learn a lot through that experience. And you will see NFL coaches say that some of the younger players who come in understand the playbook better than they would have understood it before because they're used to seeing the playbooks in these games. So so now you're starting to see them come in better prepared and differently prepared and understanding schemes and seeing what defenses are like or offenses are like.
00:20:50
Speaker
And then there's another level, which is that the players themselves love playing the games. They're hyper competitive. If you give them ah a ping pong racket, they'll just play that a lot. And and and during the during these mini camps, you'll see them playing with colleagues um you know from different camps and sometimes on their own teams.
00:21:09
Speaker
So that's just one look at how sports has impacted video games and vice versa. I don't know that that's been discussed anywhere in a meaningful way, in a powerful way, but if you looked up the amount of players, Luca Donta, I think it's his name, who just got traded to the to the Lakers, you know he's one of the biggest Overwatch players, right? um If you look at various players and and the games that they play, they're excited about what they see and they love playing with
00:21:39
Speaker
with other fans, with other players. And what does that mean about the growth of the game of say basketball or football or what have you? And what does that mean about the use of interactive entertainment? And so having that conversation and and what that impact is is, is really exciting. And then when you combine that with the fact that the marketing of those games doesn't come from the sports companies, it comes from video game companies. So we're expanding that audience through the games and through the the lens of the sport or whatever the the content might be.
00:22:09
Speaker
And we have something to share with other industries about what that means about audience engagement, audience growth, and audience sustainability. you know When do you franchise a game versus develop a new one? I think a lot of other industries see that as untapped potential.
ICON vs. DICE: Industry Focus Comparison
00:22:24
Speaker
And we think ICON is an opportunity to bring them together to have that conversation.
00:22:28
Speaker
DICE, right, which is coming up, I think it's coming up this month. I'm not going this year. i'm I'll be a GDC in March. But to me, when I first read the press release, in many respects, it seemed similar to DICE in terms of the networking aspect of nothing else. Now, you've already I think I know the answer to the question given the the broader framework you've already given me on this. But let me let me just ask, you know, really simply,
00:22:53
Speaker
You know, that's happening in Vegas in February. So in April, you know, what percentage of people are going to be you know interested in in in in coming because it is different enough or they didn't achieve whatever they needed to do, right? So I guess in a weird way, I guess I'm asking one.
00:23:11
Speaker
ah how is it different than dice? And I think you've already given us some context on that. The other thing that crossed my mind is that, you know, dice is kind of considered in terms of award shows. They have the game of the year, just like GDC does, and they're kind of considered the Academy Awards of of the video game industry. And I guess a way of asking where ICON could go over time is, if you were going to be the Academy Award of X something in this new realm, what would it be? And how is it different than, you know, kind of, again, what these other shows that that are, yes, they they are strongly focused on gaming, but um you know the interactive, you know what what is it? the The interactive arts academy who puts on dice, they aren't just limited to to games per se. So anyway, that that wider purview, I guess, is different. But let me let me ask you how you how you envision it being different than that show in particular.
00:24:02
Speaker
Sure, first and foremost, we really respect what DICE does. I try to go every year and I learn a lot from it. They have exciting speakers, ah great panels and fantastic networking. The focus of DICE is about thought leadership in the video game industry to the thought leadership of the video game industry. So it's very specific um and that's their audience and they do a fantastic job of it and we like to support what they do.
00:24:30
Speaker
um And we support what all the various events do around the world related to video games because the more we we're enhancing and elevating games, better off we all are. um And so we view that as exciting.
00:24:43
Speaker
um But the focus of ICON is to examine how video games live in the larger world, to focus on how it interacts with other industries, and to address that broader audience. And so I think the ah focus of the conference and the focus of the audience are entirely different. Will there be some overlap? Probably some people who go to one will want to go to the other. But because the focus is on business opportunity or information sharing on audience building or
00:25:14
Speaker
how video games are being used in healthcare care or in ah education or in sports. The conversations will be different. The speakers will be different. The audience will be different. So um we don't view one as being a replacement for the other. We view them as complementing one another, but in very different
ICON's Legacy and ESA's Advocacy Efforts
00:25:33
Speaker
ways. so In terms of award shows, we have given no thought who to creating any um anything but a great conference and ah and a great summit for ah leaders to come together and to enjoy the moment. so
00:25:46
Speaker
ah It was a very long and complicated question with deep meaning, but you are so far ahead of where we are. we I like the five-year question because that to us is success in and of itself.
00:25:57
Speaker
So I don't know the latest and you're definitely wired into what the new administration is going to do. And I know IDC as a company is looking at what is the administration what is the administration going to do in terms of impacting tariffs coming in from China. And I saw the Mexico one was just put on hold for two months and whatever. I guess the question is, because it's so press in and because it could very much impact especially hardware coming in, maybe even software, other things coming in from China and a few other countries. Can you give me or give us ah as much time as you can on um the state of how the new administration is likely to change? you know What's the biggest, you've got a headline or two that that is likely to change in the near term this year because of the new administration that is going to hurt or help video game companies
00:26:43
Speaker
What are they? what what's your What's your chief concern when you're talking to people of Congress or whatever? What what are the what are the things top of mind for them and for you as an advocate for the video game industry in Washington, DC? Sure. So the Entertainment Software Association serves as the voice and advocate for the industry. We cherish that role because it's an opportunity to represent the greatest industry in the world. We're the most innovative, we're the most creative,
00:27:08
Speaker
We care about consumers and we're an economic driver. We have a great story to tell in Washington, which we do every day. And we look forward to working with ah government officials on both sides of the aisle. And we do that both at the federal and state level. So every day of the year, we are spending time with some kind of policymaker or government official.
00:27:29
Speaker
to talk about the benefits that game that games bring. And that has resulted in our industry being not only less regulated but more appreciated over time. And what we want to do is make sure we're always enhancing the visibility and exciting um opportunities that people see through games.
00:27:48
Speaker
And so that's really um at core what we do. So for us, irrespective of who's in the White House or who's leading Congress, we have the same mission, which is to represent and advocate for this great industry. um you know With respect to the current situation in terms of tariffs, you know obviously we're concerned as an industry um because tariffs on video game devices and related products would have a negative impact on millions of Americans who enjoy games every day and would harm um the significant contributions we make as an industry to the US economy. but As with every issue, we always look forward to working with the administration, Congress, or the states to find ways to help sustain the economic growth that our industry really ah creates.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
00:28:31
Speaker
Stanley, thank you so much for joining us today, Lewis. Thank you so much for helping set us up. You have much better questions than I do. So I really appreciate you coming on there. We will have information about the ESA on our player different website. We'll also have links to icon and all the icon related stuff as well. perfect Again, gentlemen, thank you so much. Congratulations on the announcement. Looking forward to it. Thank you. Appreciate it.