Games Convention
The Games Convention, Leipzig Games Convention or short GC is an annual videogame event in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides videogames, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware and Edutainment. With 183,000 visitors, 2,600 press members and 368 exhibitors from 25 countries in 2006, the Games Convention exceeded the Tokyo Game Show and is now the biggest games event in the world.
Unlike the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, the Games Convention is open to all visitors. While the Business Center is reserved for professional visitors, exhibitors and the press, the showfloor is open to gamers of all ages.
The conference takes place in Leipzig, Germany, that has been dramatically transformed by 15 years of tremendous investment since the reunification of Germany. The Renaissance era center of the city has been restored, and now features a wide variety of sidewalk cafes and hotels for conference visitors.
To help protect younger visitors, colored bracelets are handed out to the visitors, indicating their age: "12 years and older" (green), "16 years and older" (blue) and "18 years and older" (red). These colors correspond to the age indicators the USK, the German version of PEGI or ESRB, uses.
History
The Leipzig Games Convention was first held in 2002. With 134,000 visitors in 2005, the organisation had only expected 165,000 visitors in 2006, but this was greatly exceeded with a total of 183,000 visitors coming to the Leipziger Messe. Now that E3 is being greatly downsized, it is expected that the Games Convention will become even more important in 2007 and beyond.
The Games Convention is usually held in the last week of August. The Games Convention 2007 takes place from August 23 to August 26, 2007. For press members, exibitors and professionals it starts one day earlier.
Statistics
| Year | Visitors | Exhibitors |
| 2002 | 80.000 | 166 |
| 2003 | 92.000 | 207 |
| 2004 | 105.000 | 258 |
| 2005 | 134.000 | 280 |
| 2006 | 183.000 | 368 |
International Games Developer Conference
The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) is the largest game design and development conference in Europe [1], with 600 attendees in 2006.
Three days before the Games Convention starts, the GCDC is held in the same complex in Leipzig. During the conference, attendees gain ideas and inspiration from the presentation of new tools and methods, and from a variety of sesions 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.
Press day and press conferences
One day before the event opens to the public, the Games Convention opens for professional visitors, such as developers and members of the press. On this day, many developers and publishers hold an official press conference.
Symphonic Game Music Concert
To celebrate the event, on the evening of the first day of the Games Convention, a grand Symphonic Game Music Concert is held in the Gewandhaus. Well-known game music composers such as Nobuo Uematsu, Rob Hubbard, Michiru Yamane, Akira Yamaoka, Yuzo Koshiro, Chris Huelsbeck, Jason Hayes and many others were in attendance.