Yes, we can't wait for August 21 to come around, especially those of us lucky enough to receive advance holiday tickets for the Games Convention 2008 event. In anticipation of yet another high turnout this year, the folks at Leipzig are hard at work in making sure the venue will be a great (and safe) place to check out what's new in the gaming world. Details in the full article!

If you're short on ideas on what to give that gamer friend or relative, then you may want to consider this option: advance tickets to the Games Convention 2008 in Leipzig! It's never too soon to grab your tickets for one of next year's biggest gaming events, after all.

Check out the GC Christmas campaign freebies and other information in the full article!

When Mario and Sonic duke it out, you know there's going to be some fireworks. And fireworks are indeed expected as sales of their new videogame, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, is expected to sell 4 million units, announced today at the Tokyo Game Show 2007. 

Mario and Sonic are two of the most iconic characters in video game history and we'll get to see who's the better man (or hedgehog) when the two are pitted together in arenas of the Olympic Games. We'll even get to see how strong their pull is with the hearts of gamers when their game comes out.

The game, which won Best of GC at the Leipzig Games Convention, will be released for the holidays on November 20 in the US for the Wii and the Nintendo DS.



Buy: [Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS)]
Buy: [Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)]

The Games Convention Asia Conference is currently underway and has attracted respected delegates from over 20 countries. Industry bigwigs from North America, Asia and Europe were all at hand to share their thoughts on the state of the business.

 

The inaugural GCAC started on September 6 and wraps up on Sunday with an opener courtesy of  Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and Second Minister for Information, Communication, and the Arts.

Managing Director for the Conference & Exhibition Management Services  Edward Liu and Leipzig Trade Fair President Wolfgang Marzin were also in attendance to welcome everyone. The two are the main organizers of the Games Convention events.

Marzin commended the host nation at the opening ceremonies and said, "Singapore is the gateway to the booming Asian-Pacific market, and opens up exciting new opportunities for the global games industry." Bob Wallace of Strategic Alternatives agrees:

The games business is a fast-growing entertainment market with participants from all nations. Asia, however, is the fastest growing part of this market, and many new world-class games companies are expected to emerge from Asia. GCA promises to be the first truly pan-Asian games conference showcasing game products and companies, and it is not to be missed by those who look toward the future.

The GCAC is happening alongside the GC Asia exhibit, which shows off the latest in the gaming industry, encompassing all platforms from consoles, PCs, handhelds and mobile phones.

The GCAC is expected to go off with a bang when Electronic Arts Worldwide executive of Music and Marketing Steve Schnur takes on the podium and offers his thoughts. Schnur says he is proud to be a part of GCAC and is excited about his turn to speak.

Alexander Fernandez, founding member and CEO of Streamline Studios, has been named as the keynote speaker in the Asian Games Convention. The convention will be held on September 6 and 7 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center.

Under Fernandez's directive, Streamline was able to deliver critically-acclaimed video games such as Gears of War, Saints Row, and Ghost Recon 2.

Fernandez's speech will be titled The Rising Value of Content Capital and will tackle the issues surrounding the importance of content-driven games and how outsourcing can help develop the industry.

"We view GC Asia as a key forum for addressing both the opportunities and challenges of the emerging content creation sector in Asia," said the Streamline Chief. "With game development ever more a global phenomenon, it's the perfect time to address the implications for all parties involved: creators and publishers alike."

GC Asia is the regional counterpart of the recently-concluded GC 2007 in Leipzig, Germany where talks about the industry as well as exhibits of the biggest gaming projects today were held. The event covers all forms of gaming from consoles, PCs, handhelds, and even mobile phones.

If you're interested in GC Asia and would like to participate, you can go to www.GC-asia.sg to find more information.

  

This year's GC in Leipzig packed a lot of surprises for the videogame community, with the industry's biggest movers and shakers flashing their biggest guns for the world to see. It's not hard to see, then, why some people would want the event held in a bigger scale and in a different venue, for maximum digital entertainment nirvana. Rumors of this happening have circulated 'round the interwebs quite a bit, some of them stating that GC will indeed be taking place in a different location come 2009.

While this may seem like a good idea on paper, it may not be all that feasible, as the decision to move GC from Leipzig would need the express permission from the organizers of the convention itself.

This revelation comes from a representative of Leipziger Messe, the company who currently owns Games Convention and the GC brand. Since Leipziger Messe owns GC and all that entails, they have the final say on whether or not GC takes place in a location other than Leipzig.

They also went on to disprove the rumors even further. Not only would there be little chance of them granting the permission because this year's location proved to be a huge success, but also that applying for the permission itself was a process that took two or three years of negotiation. Ouch.

So for those of us who were hoping to have GC take place somewhere closer to home, too bad. But yours truly doubts that the minor inconvenience of taking an overseas trip would affect gamers worldwide. It's GC, after all!

  

Fancy yourself going to Japan this September? Well, here's one good reason (or in this case, several) why you should. If Europe has their own Games Convention in Leipzig, Asia has the Tokyo Game Show (TGS). The event will be showing off some much awaited games that everyone has been anticipating, as well as some new ones to whet everyone's gaming appetite.

Capcom has revealed a partial list of games that they'll be showcasing for the event:

• Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, Xbox 360)
• We Love Golf (Wii)
• Treasure Hunter Z (Wii)
• Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
• Sengoku Basara 2 (PS2)
• Rockman Star Force 2 (DS)
• Wantame Music Channel (DS)

Anyone going to the event will be able to try out all of these games (except Basara 2, sadly). It will be intriguing to see what other games Capcom will be showing everyone during the TGS as they have some unrevealed games on their site. We'll keep you updated on any more news as they arrive, so until then stay tuned.

Crash may not be as iconic as Mario or Sonic, but he's one mean bandicoot. Plenty of fans should be delighted with his comeback in Crash of the Titans (Xbox 360, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS), and for a good reason. For everyone else alien to what this title is, here's a trailer that Vivendi Games showcased at the Games Convention '07 in Leipzig.

Doctor Neo Cortex is back with his evil schemes. In this video, he captures Crash in an attempt to make our orange hero suffer yet again. Things went sour with the mad scientist's evil inventions however, making everything backfire. Instead of doing some hurting, Crash just got stronger. Monsters under the doctor's control couldn't do anything to stop the escape.

From what we can see, quirky humor is still going to earn Crash of the Titans some laughs. Expect the game in North American shelves this October 2.

Buy: [Crash of the Titans (PSP)]
Buy: [Crash of the Titans (DS)]
Buy: [Crash of the Titans (Xbox 360)]

Roll out the red carpet! Leipzig Messe has just announced the winners for the "Best of GC" during the Leipzig Games Convention 2007. The awards span across all current generation platforms and other industry-related tidbits showcased during the event, all dispersed under ten respective categories.

Among the list of 85 hardware and software entries, a lineup of finalists have been revealed. And with those finalists, it seemed to be a tough call on which to choose as the winner. Each of the finalists had their own big plus to bring into the table, that's for sure. Regardless, the winners have already been announced.

Here's the full list of winners of the Best of GC, each in their own category:

• God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony Computer Entertainment) - PSP
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami) - PS2
  
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami) - PS3
• BioShock (Take-Two Interactive) - Xbox 360
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega) - Nintendo Wii
• Eye Training (Nintendo) - Nintendo DS
• Crysis (Electronic Arts) - PC
• Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Eidos) - Online
• Wii Balance Board - Hardware/Accessory/Product

An award was supposed to have been given for the Mobile category, however, there weren't enough participants to have warranted the prize.

Here are more portable videogaming goodness from GC Leipzig, and this time it's the official trailer for Sonic's latest high-speed adventure on the Nintendo Dual Screen (NDS), Sega's Sonic Rush Adventure. It's fast, it's furious, it hearkens to the day when Sonic the Hedgehog games were all about speed and nothing but - and with some 3D boss-fighting action on the side, too.

Just like the famous blue hedgehog, the trailer hits the ground running, showing off some choice bits of the game while teasing us about the ridiculously-awesome boss fights we'll be hopping, spinning, and dashing our way to victory in. There's also some footage about the game's nautical bits - all of which have you tapping, drawing, or sliding your stylus onto the touchscreen, and we're glad to see that it's not forced or tacked-on. The nautical battle part definitely looks epic to play through.

Sonic's back on the DS, and despite the game being bite-sized, this one is a massive adventure just waiting to happen. Enjoy the video!