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.

While the upcoming BlizzCon event is definitely catching every Blizzard fan's eye, just as much attention (specifically, speculation) is being drawn to the possibility of a new World of Warcraft expansion.

Current rumors stipulate that this latest expansion will take place in the cold, bitter territories of Northrend, where players will encounter Paladin-turned-Lich-King-successor, Arthas.

But even if this is the biggest "what if" that's abuzz, there are still plenty of other possibilities out there. Such was the discussion via WoW Insider, which details an interesting summary of where the latest WoW expansion may take place. Quoting Elizabeth Harper:

Obviously, there's Northrend, which contains 13 distinct regions, then there's the South Seas, 5 islands located off the southern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms (and include Zandalar, which I must note already exists in the game) -- on one of these isles you'll find the well-known Goblin city of Undermine, then there are a number of other islands located in the Great Sea: Kul'Tiras, Tol Barad, Crestfall, Zul'Dare, Dragon Isle, Balor, and Pandaria, the Emerald Dream, which could be as large as Azeroth itself.

The best we can do for the moment is sit back and wait for Blizzard's upcoming announcements come this BlizzCon or via GCDC. Which among the locations listed looks to be the most likely setting for the next expansion?

Another much-awaited MMORPG is making its way to this year's GCDC 2007. GOA has just announced that they will be at the Leipzig-based games convention, and that they will be presenting several of their games, including Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) and Dark Age of Camelot.

WAR in particular will feature 36 computers on-site, which will provide visitors with a chance to try out the MMO's player vs. player and realm vs. realm combat.

Further upping the ante is the presence of WAR Senior Producer Jeff Hickmann and Creative Director Paul Barnett. The pair will be talking about several WAR-related topics at the Leipzig event, including an unveiling of the secrets of the elves.

On a more general note, GOA is also expecting to feature its other new titles at the event - keep in touch in case we pick up more info on this. The GOA booth is located at stand A20 in Hall 3. The GCDC proper is expected to take place this August 22 to 26, at the Leipzig Messe convention center in Leipzig, Germany.

 

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.

Gaming in Asia is often associated with Japan, South Korea and China, but the region as a whole is catching up to the growing industry as evidenced by more events being organized to forge cooperation and spread new knowledge on the field.

Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC) is among the first of such large scale events outside the three aforementioned nations. It's the equivalent of Europe's GCDC and this year, Singapore is hosting it.

The event is none-business in nature and more oriented on talks which seek to impart insights on the state of the industry. However, such conferences have been known to be venues where parties interested in starting commercial ties get acquainted and start partnerships in the long run.

Speakers from Europe, North America and Asia are in the roster of those who will be taking the stage as facilitators of discussions. Bob Bates, story writer behind Unreal Tournament II, will be there, as well as Steve Schnur, EA's Worldwide Executive for Music and Audio.

Local stalwart Chris Natsuume will also be among the first to speak in the events. He was largely responsible for the creation of the game Far Cry. Frank Sliwka, GCDC Project Manager, commented on the new event, stating:

We are confident that the GC Asia Conference will establish itself as the leading platform for the game development community in Asia. The program we put forward will provide attendees with the kind of practical knowledge and numerous networking opportunities for which GC development conferences are well known.

The Games Convention Asia Conference will commence September 6 and last for two days, although no particular venue in Singapore has been named as of press time.

The GC Developers Conference (GCDC) added a few more names to its confirmed speakers list. With an already impressive line-up of speakers and a call for more, Frank Sliwka, Director of the GCDC states that with the addition of more top development, programming, business, and scientific lectures and panels, this year's GCDC in Leipzig (August 20 to 22) is one that shouldn't be missed. With big names coming from some of the most successful companies in the industry, he may very well be telling the truth.

Added to the roster are the following speakers:

• Michael Capps, President Epic Games
• Mark Rein, Vice-President Epic Games
• Mark Morris, Introversion Software
• Ken Ralston, Big Huge Games
• Cathy Campos, Panache
• Doug Whatley, Break Away
• John Smedley, Sony Online Entertainment
• Ute Palmer-Horn, Koch Media
• George Bain

More speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. With a growing exhibition base and speaker line-up, we'll keep you updated as the names come.

It's only October, but from the looks of it, the Leipzig GCDC organizers are planning ahead. Leipzig Messe International just announced that next year's event will be held from August 22-26 at the same site as last August's 'con: Leipzig Messe - the lovely structure to the left.

What's a Leipzig? The Leipzig GCDC, based in Leipzig, Germany, is currently the largest gaming convention in Europe.

And given that the E3 is now an invitation-only affair (Pffffft!), Leipzig has become the biggest game convention in the world, dwarfing even the revered TGS, and bagging a mind-blowing 183,000 visitors, 2,600 press personnel, and 368 exhibitors.

In related news, LMI has also announced it's planning to launch a similar convention in Asia. Titled the Games Convention Asia, this event will take place at the SUNTEC Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre from September 7-9. They're expecting around 105,000 visitors and 200 exhibitors for this event, though given the attendance for Leipzig last year, we're expecting bigger numbers.

Now that you guys know when this event's gonna take place, you better start saving up for that plane ticket to Germany.

The Leipzig Fair, also know as Games Convention or GC, officially ended on Sunday and it was a total success. Compared to GC 2005, GC 2006 broke the record with 183,000 visitors and more than 2,600 journalists from 38 countries!

Project Director Angela Schierholz summed up the exhibition’s success as follows: “The larger displays put together by exhibitors for older visitors and the female target group as well as the expansion of GC family and the new section GC Art have resulted in more visitors from different generations. GC has hence met one of its key aims by showing that interactive entertainment and education are relevant for society as a whole.”

Not only the visitors, but also the exhibitors were very satisfied. When asked how well their aims had been achieved at the show, 89% of exhibitors replied either ‘well’ or even ‘very well’ (up from 86% in 2005). All in all, 91% of the total of 368 exhibitors from 25 countries announced before GC closed that they would be returning to take part in GC 2007. This means that everybody could anticipate a larger and more extensive fair on the next year due to the massive success of the games convention. The exhibitors were also able to increase their games' appeal to the hard-to-reach customer demography, which includes women and girls – seventeen per cent of visitors were female (up by 4%).

With the span of four years, GCDC was able to establish itself as the industry’s most important European platform. This year, GC added art as a new section for the first time. Teaming up with Pong.Mythos, Machinima and Digital Beauties/Character Design, it also featured workshops where visitors could take hands-on approach.

GCDC – Europe’s leading developer conference – will be planning with exhibitors to "build up the programme further to give people more gaming fun."