leipzig-games-convention posts

When the revamped version of the Leipzig Games Convention, now known as Game Convention Online, announced this week they were expecting over 50,000 attendees we stated that in our opinion that was a tad optimistic. Today we were proven right as a press release from the now concluded three day event announced that 43,000 attendees made it to their first convention.

That's still some impressive first year numbers for a games convention that was devoted entirely to online and MMO gaming with little backing from the major game publishers. It was still slightly higher than the revamped E3's numbers of 41,000 attendees this year. The Games Convention Online's organizers stated they will be back in the summer of 2010 but specific dates were not announced.

Last year we reported on the battle between two Germany-based games conventions; the Leipzig Games Convention, which has surged into the single largest such convention on the planet (over 200,000 people attended in 2008) and the upstart GamesCom which will have its inaugural event in August in Cologne. GamesCom has the support of all the major game publishers, however, which means that the Leipzig Games Convention is basically forced to blink.

However its organizers are not giving up yet. They have decided to morph their event into the smaller scale Games Convention Online. The new event will be held on July 31-August 2 in Leipzig and will be devoted to all sorts of online-only games, including PC, browser and mobile titles. Online game tournaments and a role-playing event are also planned. Will this new event be enough to keep the lights on at Leipzig? Stay tuned.

It looks like the fight between the two major consumer-trade conventions in Germany has finally come to a head. GamesCOM, the new event to be held in the city of Cologne, has announced they have switched their dates from early September to August 19-23, 2009. That happens to be the same dates as the Leipzig Games Convention which last August had over 200,000 attendees.

GamesCOM's advantage is that they have the support of the industry consortium BIU which in theory means most of the major game publishers would want to attend their event. However, organizers of the Leipzig Games Convention claimed after last August's event they also had broad support to attend their show. Clearly, one or the other has to give in. Which will it be?

It's all over in Germany but the organizers of the just completed 2008 Leipzig Game Convention are bragging about their attendance numbers. The event brought in a total of 203,000 people over the five day event last week, according to a press release from the convention.

Dates for the 2009 Leipzig Games Convention are already set; it will be held in its traditional time period of August 19-23. The press release claims that the vast majority of the games industry want the convention to stay in Leipzig. That's interesting considering that the industry consortium BIU voted last year not to back the Leipzig convention in favor of a new 2009 event, GAMEScon, in the larger city of Cologne. It should be interesting to see which event wins out. In the meantime Games Convention organizers are holding their second annual Asia event next month and they strongly hinted at plans for a US based event, stating, "After the Southeast Asian Games Convention, we are now focusing on the North American market."

You can never get enough high-intensity zombie blasting action, but we'll have to settle for watching trailers until Left 4 Dead finally releases. This trailer shows what it takes to take on a rush of zombies clamoring to rip you and your team apart, and the firepower it takes to take out a mutant boss. Left 4 Dead will let players team up as a group of survivors against waves of undead, but real players can also take control of the powerful bosses to wreak havoc. The game is currently scheduled to release this November, so players better learn to play together or die alone.

Download Left 4 Dead HD Gameplay Video (255 MB)

The developers of Dark Void give the complete low-down on everything you need to know with three narrated videos. One provides background on the game's story, setting and general gameplay. The second gives (featured above) gives insight on the vertical cover and combat feature. Lastly, the final video describes what gameplay is like after you leave the ground altogether and take to the skies using the rocket pack. Everything you wanted to know about Dark Void is just a few downloads away.

Download the Dark Void Narrated Story HD Video (124 MB)
Download the Dark Void Narrated Vertical Combat HD Video (40 MB)
Download the Dark Void Narrated Flying HD Video (35 MB)

Whether you can't get enough of the spectacular graphics from Mirror's Edge or just a running fanatic, watching this video is definitely worth your while. It's about three minutes of a player running, climbing, jumping and sliding through a multilevel stage - taking out a sniper along the way. There's a lot of shaky action that could cause motion sickness, but focusing on the dot in the middle the screen should help a little.

Download the Mirror's Edge HD Video (921 MB)

Bionic Commando Rearmed just released last week, which gives some room to shift people's attention toward the next Bionic Commando, as we can see in this video shown at the Leipzig Games Convention. The upcoming game completely sheds the 2D trappings of the original and features action and powerful attacks in an open 3D environment. Some new screenshots from the game have also been released.


Download the Bionic Commando HD Trailer (78 MB)

The latest Far Cry 2 trailer takes us back to the African Savannah, where we get a brief montage of all the different characters players will encounter while playing, along with plenty of combat and explosions. The entire game centers on the player's effort to kill a man named The Jackal. From the looks of things, he should be watching his back carefully by the time you're ready for him.

Download the Far Cry 2 "The Jackal" HD Trailer (565 MB)

While some such as this particular Big Download writer prefer the downsized E3 Media & Business Summit compared to the raucous, chaotic E3s of old, venerable Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon is the latest to criticize the ailing trade show. Falling more in the vein of constructive criticism, Boons feels the excitement surrounding the Leipzig show would do well to re-invigorate E3, which has drawn much criticism.

Boon confessed that E3 has always been a lot of work for developers, but was also enjoyable as well. "It was something we would look at and get excited about because you see the competition's games - and when you see all that stuff you walk away excited about the industry. I didn't get that this year," Boon said to GamesIndustry.biz. Getting caught up in the excitement of seeing new and innovative titles was lacking this year due to many announcements already being made and a smaller attendance from developers and publishers.

Leipzig still has plenty of excitement according to Boon. "When you see people, and where the crowds are going, I think you get a good pulse as to what's exciting in those shows." Boon postulates that injecting E3 with some Leipzig-level excitement might return the trade show to its former level of glitz and spectacle.