The western wings and central hall of the new Leipziger Messe Fairgrounds. The east wings and business centre are off-camera to the right. The central hall alone has been described as being large enough to enclose a World Cup Soccer pitch.

The Games Convention (sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention, and abbreviated as GC) is an annual video game event in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides videogames, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware and Edutainment. Its concept was created by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware (German Federal Association for Entertainment Software) amongst others. Games Convention is an annual gaming event in Leipzig in Germany, and is the second largest gaming event of the world. ... Image File history File links Leipzig_Neue_Messe. ... Image File history File links Leipzig_Neue_Messe. ... “Computer and video games” redirects here. ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Infotainment (a portmanteau of information and entertainment) refers to a general type of media broadcast program which provides a combination of current events news and feature news, or features stories. Infotainment also refers to the segments of programming in television news programs which overall consist of both hard news segments... Edutainment (also educational entertainment or entertainment-education) is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse. ...

With 183,000 visitors, 2,600 journalists and 368 exhibitors from 25 countries in 2006, the Games Convention rivals the Tokyo Game Show as the biggest games event in the world. By comparison, both the Leipzig and Tokyo shows, where gamers of all ages can visit the show floor, are three times the size of the trade-only 2006 E3 show in Los Angeles. The Business Centre at Leipzig is reserved for professional visitors. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gamers play Sonys PS3 in TGS 2006 Booths at the Tokyo Game Show in 2004 The Tokyo Game Show , or simply TGS) is a video game expo / convention held in Tokyo, Japan. ... E³ logo The Electronic Entertainment Expo (or Exposition), commonly known as E³ or E3, is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

The conference takes place in a sprawling modern complex of exhibition halls in Leipzig, Germany.

To help identify younger visitors, coloured bracelets are handed out to attendees, indicating their age: "12 years and older" (green), "16 years and older" (blue) and "18 years and older" (red). These colours correspond to the age indicators the USK, the German version of PEGI or ESRB, uses. The USKs official logo. ... PEGIs logo Pan European Game Information, or more commonly PEGI, is a European system for rating the content of computer and video games, and other entertainment software. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States. ...

History

The Leipzig Games Convention was first held in 2002. In 2005 the convention achieved visitor numbers of 134,000, which had risen to 185,000 by 2007.

The Games Convention is usually held in the last week of August. The Games Convention 2007 took place from August 23 to August 26, 2007. It started one day earlier for press members, exhibitors and professionals. Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Asian expansion

An Asian edition of the Games Convention has been announced for 2007. It will be held in Singapore starting September 6, 2007. [1]. The current title of the expo is Games Convention Asia 2007.

The Games Convention is facing a rising demand in Asia. [2]

Statistics

International Game Convention Developers Conference

The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) is the largest game design and development conference in Europe [3], with 600 attendees in 2006.

The GCDC is held in a building in the same complex in Leipzig where the GC takes place, typically just before the opening of the main show. During the conference attendees gain ideas and inspiration from the presentation of new tools and methods, and from a variety of sessions discussing both the craft and the business of game design and development. The conference is open to both game professionals and students.

As the major European conference, GCDC draws top speakers from all over the world. Presenters in recent years include Bob Bates, Louis Castle, Don Daglow, Peter Molyneux, Bill Roper, Bruce Shelley and Will Wright. Bob Bates is an American computer games designer. ... Louis Castle co-founded Westwood Studios (the creator of the popular Command & Conquer real-time strategy video games) with Brett Sperry in 1985. ... Don Daglow (born ~1953) is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. ... Peter at the University of Southampton Peter Molyneux OBE (born 5 May 1959 in Guildford, Surrey, UK) is a computer game designer and game programmer, responsible for well known God games Populous and Black & White, among others, as well as Business Strategy games such as Theme Park and most recently... Bill Roper is a video game developer and has been a well-known figure in the worldwide gaming industry for over a decade. ... Bruce Campbell Shelley is a computer game designer who helped design Sid Meiers Civilization and Railroad Tycoon with MicroProse and the 1997 hit real-time strategy game Age of Empires with Ensemble Studios. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ...

Press day and press conferences

The Games Convention opens for professional visitors, such as developers and members of the press, one day before the event opens to the public. Many developers and publishers hold official press conferences on this day.

Symphonic Game Music Concert

As part of the Games Convention, on the evening of the first day of the Games Convention, a grand Symphonic Game Music Concert is held in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Well-known game music composers such as Nobuo Uematsu, Michiru Yamane, Akira Yamaoka, Jason Hayes, Rob Hubbard, Chris Huelsbeck and Yuzo Koshiro are among those who have attended. The annual European Symphonic Game Music Concert-series (also called GC Concerts) started in 2003 (08 / 20). ... The Gewandhaus (cloth house) is a famed concert hall in Leipzig, Germany. ... Nobuo Uematsu , born March 21, 1959) is a Japanese composer of video game music, and one of the most well-known, prolific, and versatile in the field. ... Michiru Yamane (Japanese: 山根 ミチル Yamane Michiru) composed video game music for Castlevania and other Konami games, including Suikoden. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jason Hayes is a video game music composer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... Rob Hubbard (born 1956?, Kingston upon Hull, England) is a music composer best known for his composition of computer game theme music, especially for microcomputers of the 1980s such as the Commodore 64. ... Chris Hülsbeck (born 1968) is a game music composer from Germany. ... Yuzo Koshiro , born December 12, 1967 in Hino, Tokyo) is a Japanese video game music composer. ...

See also

• Symphonic Game Music Concert
• Leipziger Messe

The annual European Symphonic Game Music Concert-series (also called GC Concerts) started in 2003 (08 / 20). ... The Leipzig Trade Fair (German: ) was a major fair for trade across Mitteleuropa for nearly a millenium. ...

External links

• Official website of the Games Convention
• Games Convention Developer Conference
• Site of the Symphonic Game Music Concerts
• Leipziger Messe
• Games Convention Asia official website

References

• Roads lead to Singapore in September for videogame industry
• Suggested CICC events
• Gamasutra.com: Games Convention Asia 2007 Details Revealed
• Heise.de: Facts about the Games Convention 2007 (german)