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).

While major companies are making their presence felt at the upcoming Games Convention in Leipzig, another GCDC highlight is the influx of promising young studios. With that in mind, we're announcing that SouthPeak has released info on its expected product line up for the upcoming event.

Highlights in the list include a new Wii game, titled Brave, and Monster Madness Ex, the Ps3 port of the Xbox 360 and PC's Monster Madness game. Here's a plot summary for each of SouthPeak's to-be-disclosed titles:

Brave (Wii, DS, PSP)

• An action adventure based on the culture, history and mythology of Native America. Brave will have players take control of a young boy on a mission save his tribe from impending disasters. SouthPeak's very first game for the Wii is scheduled for a Q2 2008 release.
  

Monster Madness Ex (PlayStation 3)

• The PlayStation 3's take on this title is expected to carry over several improvement and gameplay tweaks, including new downloadable content. Currently scheduled for a Q1 2008 release.
  

Ninjatown (DS)

• A quirky strategy title using ninja characters licensed from Shawnimals, Ninjatown will bring an entire family of cute ninjas to Nintendo’s handheld system. Scheduled for a Q1 2008 release.
  

Iridium Runners (PlayStation 2)

• A racing game set in the year 2050, Iridium Runners will have players competing against each other for Special powers and weapons to survive as the next Iridium Champion. Scheduled for a Q4 2007 release.
  

SouthPeak Games is expected to be located at stand J50 of the event grounds, which can be found in Hall 1 of the business centre.

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 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.

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.

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.