14 DAY TRIAL // Can success doom an event? I bet this is the question that the organizers of the Leipzig Games Convention are trying to answer right about now. Their show has been said to have been batter than this year's E3, mainly because it managed to serve both fans and industry insiders.
The organizers, the very German named Leipziger Messe GmbH, have even announced through CEO Wolfgang Marzin that "The GC - Games Convention will be back in Leipzig again in 2009," yet the unpronounceable Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware, the industry association that represents videogame publishers in Germany, is saying that it plans to back a new event, called Gamescom, which is set to be held in Cologne.
Oliver Kuhrt, the guy who is managing director of Koelnmesse, organizer of Gamescom, said that "It was to be expected that the Leipzig trade fair would try to keep the topic in its 2009 program as well by announcing its date. But they will have to do it without the industry for the most part. The lead trade fair will take place in Cologne in 2009 and beyond."
Leipzig was a major success this year and the organizers even announced plans to expand in North America, mainly because they feel fans could appreciate something along the lines of the Leipzig Games Convention, especially since E3 has been closed to the general public in the last few years as the ESA wants to concentrate on the industry players.
The Leipzig Games Convention is supposed to take place in 2009 between August 19-23, with Gamescom ready to begin on September 9. It will be interesting to see how the two gatherings will shape up. On one hand we might end up with two big, interesting events; on the other hand we might witness an E3 like train wreck in Cologne and a much reduced show in Leipzig.