Games Convention Leipzig Cancelled

The Games Convention 09 in Leipzig has been canceled, only to be replaced with Games Convention Online.

Gamasutra has reported the following -


Organizers for the Leipzig Games Convention, which was slated to take place in late August, canceled the general video games expo, citing increased competition on the German trade fair market and announcing an online games-focused show in its stead.

The Leipzig Trade Fair spent the last five months contending with Cologne's GamesCom event over which of the two would serve as Germany's authoritative video game convention this summer.

Announced in early 2008 by the BIU and Cologne's trade fair business Koelnmesse, GamesCom was supposed to support Cologne and replace Games Convention in Germany, with 2008 intended to be the last year the Leipzig show would be held.

Following the Leipzig show last August, however, Leipzig Trade Fair CEO Wolfgang Marzin announced that the Games Convention would return, pointing to a recent poll which indicated that over 82 percent of private visitors wanted to see the expo in Leipzig in 2009.

Marzin backed out of the battle by revealing today that the Leipzig expo will be dropped from the 2009 calendar, offering, "If the industry is again in search of a platform for console and PC games and hardware with the know-how of the GC -- Games Convention, we will immediately be available."

At the same time, though, the organizers announced a new show, Games Convention Online, taking place in Leipzig from July 31st to August 2nd as a combination online/offline event. The trade fair will focus on online browser, client, and mobile games.

While the event will be organized into two separate areas, for trade/professional public and gamers, Games Convention Online will also have an online component which users around the world can access for free.

"We will be combining the real fair, that is, the offline event, with an online event," says Marzin. "This means that millions of gamers are linked in on the internet and can take part in the Games Convention Online in Leipzig live. The Games Convention Online will host tens of thousands of visitors in Leipzig, and several million in the whole world."

- Eric Caoili




I wish the UK had such a convention, there have been mumblings about one taking off in London for the past two years, but sadly nothing yet has come of it. In terms of location it's seems like a excellent place to hold such an event.

The O2 Arena we have in London would be perfect, it's apparently the most frequented events arena in the world. It sees more people through it gates than Madison Square Garden annually. I think the futuristic setting of the arena would be ideal for a videogames show. I really hope it happens one day, it would be awesome to have such an event in London.

GamesCon? I've never even heard of it, how was it a serious competitor of Leipzig? Damn, this sucks. I was hoping to see more of Prototype at Leipzig, and considering that Prototype does not have online (or local) multiplayer, I doubt that it will be shown at "Games Convention Online." Ah well, there is still GDC and E3!

Linkyshinks, you seem to be able to find some really good material. Keep on it!

• The convention in Leipzig will be turned into a smaller event focussing on casual and online play, under a new name.
• The "real" Games Convention moves to cologne and is renamed "GAMEScom".
• This is a good thing. The Leipzig convention got too small pretty fast and Leipzig isn't exactly a central or popular city. The GamesCOM will be bigger and held in a better place.
• The date has been moved from spring to fall.  This is awesome, because the GCN was very close to E3 and therefore lacked the more exciting news.

• E3 in Los Angeles and GCN (focusing on Online/Casual) in Leipzig, June 2009
• GamesCom in Cologne, late August 2009
• Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo (duh), late September 2009

So which will be the big games convention in Europe now?

"BiggerBomb said:

"GamesCon? I've never even heard of it, how was it a serious competitor of Leipzig?"

No wonder you never heard of it, because there has never been one. The first GamesCom will be held in cologne this year. Gamastura didn't get it quite right:

• The convention in Leipzig will be turned into a smaller event focussing on casual and online play, under a new name.
• The "real" Games Convention moves to cologne and is renamed "GAMEScom".
• This is a good thing. The Leipzig convention got too small pretty fast and Leipzig isn't exactly a central or popular city. The GamesCOM will be bigger and held in a better place.
• The date has been moved from spring to fall.  This is awesome, because the GCN was very close to E3 and therefore lacked the more exciting news.

2009 will thus see the following conventions:

• E3 in Los Angeles and GCN (focusing on Online/Casual) in Leipzig, June 2009
• GamesCom in Cologne, late August 2009
• Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo (duh), late September 2009

A US games convention in spring, and two conventions for both EU and JPN in the fall. It's awesome, really.



"

And since i live in Aachen which is aboout 30 driving minutes away from Cologne i finally get a chance to visit a gaming convention at a reasonable price :) hurrayy