Games Convention 2008 preparation is starting to churn out steam. What we hear from official press waves is that the event organizers, Leipziger Messe, is ironing out the kinks to GC 2007's little mishaps with transportation and access. It looks like they're pressing for another good time in Leipzig this August, and if all pulls through, we may not be seeing GC - Games Convention departing Germany's trade show city anytime soon. More details at the full article.

Now that the Leipzig Games Convention has ended, organizers Leipziger Messe GmbH had a chance to look back on this year's standings for the Games Convention (GC) and Game Convention Developers Conference (GCDC). And in quick summary, the Leipzig trade show has made large strides forward in both number and event achievements.

Back in 2006, the Games Convention reeled in 183,000 exhibition attendees. This year, they've listed 185,000 visitors. Although less than the targeted 200,000 visitor count, more visitors were satisfied with this year's turnout than last year - that's 85% against 75%. In addition, that count included 12,300 trade visitors, a huge jump from 8,700 from a year ago.

The Leipzig convention also brought in more media attention after a recorded 3,300 press personnel from 46 countries attended, compared to 2006's 2,610 from 38 countries. About 20% of those visitors were female, while 52% of visitors were over 20 years old. It was reported a few days ago that the exhibitor list rose to 410 entities. The actual recorded count of exhibitors was very much higher: 509 exhibitors were found.

The recently concluded trade show also marked a first for GC Freestyle, a festival of interactive entertainment sorts, which included concerts, summer activities, and sports. A 3,000 count for overnight stays was noted, while surveys claimed that the event itself was well-received. GC family also grabbed a special place in the visitors' hearts, as 75% of those who did attend GC 2007 took a keen interest in A Hall of Its Own (Hall 5).

If you're among the legions of World of Warcraft fans that's been hoping to get a shot at trying out The Wrath of the Lich King, we have some very good news. Blizzard has just sent out a press wire announcing that this much-anticipated expansion will be a playable over at the upcoming Games Convention at Leipzig, Germany.

Visitors fortunate enough to play will be introduced into the frigid territory of Northrend's Howling Fjord region. And from here, players will also get a taste of Utgarde Keep, a dungeon requiring a 5-man level 70 party to accomplish. Fans who've played through Warcraft III may remember Howling Fjord as the same area where Arthas' expedition landed in their pursuit of Mal'Ganis the dread lord.

Another game that's also expected to be playable is Blizzard's much-awaited StarCraft II RTS. To be available in the game's demo will be the Terran and Protoss races, with both single and in multiplayer battles to be playable over six different maps. This year's GCDC opens for the trade on Wednesday, August 22, and will be open to the public from Thursday (August 23) to Sunday (August 26).

The industry-focused leg of the Games Convention at GCDC 2007 will take place">Leipzig is expected to break its previous record of 650 attendees, after Leipziger Messe GmbH announced through press wire that the registered attendee tally for the 2007 event has hit 850 attendees. The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) will take place on August 20-22, just before the consumer and retailer exhibition.

 

Hailing from 35 countries all over the globe - 60 percent from the North American and UK regions - participants have the opportunity to witness the delivery of more than 80 event keynotes from over 120 speakers. And representatives from their respective industry segments - namely handheld, mobile, console, PC, Mac, and online markets - will expound on visions, themes and issues relevant to the industry's times.

Although much of the planned discussions will be focused on the industry side, there will also be discussions on how society and political bodies can properly recognize the gaming industry, and the significance of associations representing the game industry to the outside world.

And in another note, Leipziger Messe has particularly named Tim Schafer of Double Fine Production (Grim Fandango, Psychonauts) to deliver his keynote speech entitled "Games and Creativity," adapted for the new age of game development. If memory serves us right, Schafer and his studio has been secretly at work on a game project under Vivendi's revived Sierra Entertainment label.

It was claimed to be titled "Brutal Legend", but that has been under question for some time since it was retracted. But if former Leipzig revelations are were groundbreaking, then you may count that fellow blogger Schafer will spill more details on his ambitious "labor of love."

The 2007 Games Convention Developers Conference opening remarks will be delivered by none other than the Chairman of the European Games Development Forum (EGDF), Fred Hasson. More GC and GCDC news coming your way, before the Leipzig-filled week begins next Monday.

 

Capcom has announced that Devil May Cry 4 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) will be rendered playable at the upcoming Games Convention in Leipzig. While the game is also in development for the PC platform, fans of the franchise will only be able to demo it on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, or so goes the official press release.

This will signal Devil May Cry's debut outside of the Sony PlayStation platform, to be celebrated along with its official premiere on the Xbox 360 at the upcoming GCDC and GC exhibition at the Leipzig Business Center, Germany. For PC gamers, Devil May Cry 4 should be the second title of the DMC series to touch PCs worldwide.

Fans who could make it to probably the biggest event in the European gaming scene can head over to the stand labelled C02 at Hall 2 of the convention center. From there, lucky guests will be able to take control of Nero and his Devil Bringer arm, all the while familiarizing with the game's mechanics, looks, and feel. Michael Pattison, senior marketing director of CE Europe commented:

Devil May Cry is one of Capcom’s key brands and Leipzig Games Convention provides an excellent opportunity for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gamers to get hands on experience of the latest addition in the series that defines stylish action.

Buy: [Devil May Cry 4 (PS3)]
Buy: [Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Devil May Cry 4 (PC)]

While all eyes are currently on the upcoming Leipzig Games Convention (GCDC 2007), its far Eastern counterpart is garnering strong support as well. A press wire in circulation is announcing that this year's Games Convention Asia event will be witness to the region's very first signing of the Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between the national game associations of 12 countries and regions in the Asia Pacific rim:

• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Philippines
• Vietnam
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Japan
• China
• Korea
• Taiwan
• Indonesia
  

This MOI is hoped to improve ties between the gaming associations and industries existing among the signers. Aside from Singapore, Australia, Germany, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Thailand are further confirmed to be participating in this year's GCA. Each country is expected to set up their own pavilions at the said event, with 8 to 10 homegrown game companies from each country expected to be present. Currently finalizing their participation plans for GCA are Malaysia, Korea and China.

A total of 200 participating companies are expected to arrive at this year's event, with strong financial support coming in from Singapore's Venture Capitalists & Private Equity Associations, and Southeast Asia's Business Angels Network. The event proper is expected to take place this September 6 to 9, at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

And the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) for 2007 is rolling to a good start as another company has officially announced, via press wire, games that will be offered for gamers, media and retailers at the Leipzig Business Center come late August. Deep Silver (X3: Reunion Game of the Year Edition, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos) and its partners have listed ANNO 1701, Ferrari Challenge, Final Fantasy Tactics, Secret Files 2, Flatout Ultimate Carnage, Heroes of Mana, Perry Rhodan, and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria as featured games for gamers.

 

ANNO 1701 is Deep Silver's upcoming add-on to the ANNO (PC) real-time strategy series, published by Ubisoft. Ferrari Challenge (PlayStation 3, DS, Wii), published by System 3, will be there to tout realistic modeling and racing simulations of the Italian sports car and the motor sports series of the same name.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War (PSP) under Square Enix' supervision will also be at the Leipzig Convention, enticing fans of the Square Enix Final Fantasy and tactical action persuasion to give the game a try over handheld. Mystery fans might want to to stop by to take a gander at the sequel to the classic German adventure Secret Files: Tunguska, Secret Files 2 (PC) - the predecessor being a winner of several local and regional game of the year awards.

And if you're a fan of Mana, you could check out Heroes of Mana (DS), a real-time strategy title published by Square Enix and based on the Mana series. Empire Interactive's Flatout Ultimate Carnage (Xbox 360) will be smashing its way to Leipzig, too, after a well-anticipated, timely launch for the destructive driving title.

Perry Rhodan (PC) will feature the famous astronaut of the same name in a fictional adventure game published by Brain Game. And if Heavenly Sword coming out for the PlayStation 3 just shattered your day, worry not, because Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2) by Square Enix will be brandished at the event to satisfy the Sony current generation console gamers.

But wait, Deep Silver isn't done yet, because more games will be announced when the second part of the European-centric trade fair highlights by the developer is polished before the curtains rise by August 23. Catch them, and their games, at stand A12 of Hall 3 of the Leipzig Business Center.

The European division of D3Publisher has polished up its titles for maximum exposure at the vast Leipzig Business and Convention Center, Germany. And in the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) fast approaching in less than a month, gamers are assured that the presence of Dark Sector, Ben 10: Protector of Earth, Ed, Edd and Eddy: Scam of the Century, and Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire will be felt throughout the four-day European-centric event.

 

The Leipzig Convention will be the first event to feature playable, early versions of Dark Sector (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), a third-person horror, action adventure combining bio-weapons and morphing to truly recreate a plague-ravaged Eastern Europe.

And right off from the Cartoon Network, Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Wii, DS, PSP, PS2) will have players wielding the Omnitrix as Ben Tennyson, fending off the evil Kevin 11 and arch-enemy Vilgax. The game is planned to extend the cartoon adventures straight to accessible consoles, including popular handhelds.

Ed, Edd and Eddy: Scam of the Century (DS) will pit the triple misbehaving E's against their own neighborhood, after Captain Melonhead gains possession of their book of schemes and distributes it to everyone. The adventure game will have gamers scouring for the book through puzzles and the trio's collection of skills, before each of their schemes can be used against them.

Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire (Wii) will also be featured at Leipzig. This "massive" RPG was designed especially for the Nintendo Wii and its pair of trusty controllers, allowing players to control movement and attacks through the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The plot and storyline was penned by none other than "DragonLance" creator Richard A. Knack himself, and the game will be available for hands-on demonstration at the event.

Check out the D3Publisher Europe stand, labeled K37, at the first Hall of the Business Center starting August 22-28, 2007.

 

Just another couple of updates for the day, in case you're keeping an eye out for the upcoming Games Convention Developer's Conference (GCDC) 2007 at Leipzig. The organizers have just sent out a press wire to say that they've now released the schedule for this year's event. In line with this quick update, the following speakers have also been confirmed to be present:

• Julian Eggebrecht (USA)
• Peter Molyneux (UK)
• Michael Lewis, Cryptic Studios (USA)
• Chris Mottes, Deadline Games (Denmark)
• Jeff Hickman, EA Mythic (USA)
• Jeffrey Steefel, Turbine, Inc. (USA)
• Don Daglow, Stormfront Studios (USA)
• Patric Palm, Hansoft (Sweden)
  

As Sean Kauppinen, GCDC advisory board member, and vice president of Kohnke Communications, said regarding the speakers expected to make an appearance.

We had a tremendous number of potential speakers this year and the task of deciding which topics and speakers to choose has been an intense process because there is so much going on in the industry right now. The board feels that we have put forth a top-notch program and we look forward to the reaction of the conference attendees.

This year's GCDC will take place at Leipziger Messe (Germany), from August 20-22. The full event schedules should be available over at the official GCDC site, accessible via the read link provided for below.

Taking a surprising head start for the Leipzig Convention, Konami recently released an official press release stating the company has listed Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PSP, DS, PS2) as one of its featured games at the upcoming Leipzig Convention, more formally known as the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC).

They have announced that the game will be rendered playable during the exhibition leg of the event on the multiple platforms that the game will be released on by Fall 2007. The demonstration may already tout Konami's Teamvision, a gameplay feature new to the soccer title series Also to be featured at the event is Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, led by Konami's Koji "IGA" Igarashi.

William Oertel, overseeing the development of Silent Hill Origins, will also be at the event to reveal the series' future. But this news comes at the forefront of the company's full announcement, after noting that the few games mentioned here were only part of the dozens of big games they've lined up for the Leipzig games event. Other highly anticipated titles may be announced in the near future. Sales and marketing director for event organizers GmbH, Martin Schneider, emphasized that notion, stating:

We can promise visitors and gamers in Leipzig that Konami will play a major role in this year´s gaming year – delivering new games and additions to popular franchises, while producing exciting games for new systems and established formats.

So fans of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots may expect a second showing at GCDC 2007. Konami will be at booth B11, Hall 4 of the Leipzig Business Center from August 23-26th.