Even more news has been delivered to us about Gamescom 2012, to be hosted in Cologne in Germany on August 15th through to the 19th.
Here at e:info games, we have wrote a couple of articles on Gamescom 2012. You can catch up here:
http://einfogames.com/news/gamescom-2012-welcomes-new-exhibitors/
http://einfogames.com/news/konami-showing-off-big-titles-at-gamescom/
As already stated in previous posts, exhibiton space this year has grown by 15%, with 140,000 square metres of space to fill. We have no doubt that they will be able to fill it either with all the recent reports.
Katharina C. Hamma, Managing Director of Koelnmesse GmbH had this to say: “gamescom is stable and regardless of the market situation this year continues to be the most successful and biggest trade and event platform for interactive entertainment in Europe and beyond. With its innovative concept it can rest on a broad thematic foundation and is also gaining internationally in importance. Trade visitors and gaming fans can already look forward to the exciting fourth edition of gamescom in Cologne.”
Gamescom features a wide range of different game types, including PC and console, online browser based, social and mobile based games.
LG, Samsung and GREE will bring the focus to mobile gaming; something which is bound to kick off even more this year.
You have probably heard of LG, and Samsung, but have you heard of GREE?
GREE is one of the world leaders in mobile and social gaming, bringing 230 million gamers to its network, and will be it’s first time at the event.
They have new products to show, ready for Gamescom.
“The GREE Philosophy
Founded on the belief that a connected world is a better world, GREE set out to bring people together through the power of play. Today, GREE is the world’s largest mobile social gaming network—with over 230MM players from Beijing to Boston—and we’ve only just begun. We believe that fun is a universal language, so we’re inviting the world to come play.” – Taken from http://gree-corp.com/?g=about&s=about
Halls 4-10 will host most of the content in the Koelnmesse grounds.
New this year is the new announcement that Hall 11 will be an exclusive entrance to those who have advance tickets, meaning a faster way in, as we expect queues outside to be huge upon opening time.
Also new this year is a ‘Gamescom Trailer Cinema powered by LG’, and a ‘cosplay village’.
The Gamescom Trailer Cinema will have space for 500 people, and will be in hall 10.1. It will host live game trailers, giving Gamescom visitors a feel for how many games will actually be on site to play.
Also in hall 10.1 will again be a ‘jobs & career’ forum, acting as a platform for anyone interested in getting into the gaming industry professionally. A a larger array of companies and employers will be present than in 2011, making the choice a varied one.
Also hosted here will be a wide range of other events, including case-modding championships, retro exhibition, the BigFM Beach, gamescom wave and the climbing garden.
As well as the climbing garden, an IVM motorcycle course will be available, and other sporting events.
The cosplay village will host activities and events for all those interested in costume play, offering for example a large workshop area full of games with experienced players on hand ready to offer tricks and tips. Among all this, there will also be a karaoke area, willing people to sing to their favourite Japanese hits, a ‘Snap-Park’ which will be a dedicated area for picture taking, and lastly, an area for show acts.
Due to its growth, the ‘online world’ section which is usually hosted in hall 9, will now be hosted in hall 8.
Expect this to be a huge event, with 60 new exhibitors this year, adding to the already brimming list of developers/publishers.
The already confirmed list includes:
Sony Computer Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment, Bethesda Softworks, Bigpoint Bigben Interactive, Capcom, DeepSilver, dtp entertainment, Electronic Arts, Gameforge, Konami, Namco Bandai and others. NCsoft, Nexon, Red5 Studios, Riot Games, Razer, Roccat, Take-Two Interactive, Trion Worlds, Ubisoft, Valve, Warner Bros and wargaming.net.
The Gamescom congress will be held in Congress Centrum Nord at Koelnmesse on the 16-17th August, and for the first time will be held over two days.
Exciting new lectures, workshops and discussion rounds will be hosted, for example “the cultural value of video games”, “youth protection”, “media competence”, “online law” and “cyberbullying”.
So, to conclude, gamescom week will kick off first with the Game Developers Conference Europe (GDCE) on Monday, 13th August, and will end with the gamescom festival.
The festival will take the ‘Celebrate the games’ slogan from inside the trade show, and take it to the city streets.
Fans will be entertained with gaming presentations, interactive entertainment, and live music from top musical artists.
For more information on Gamescom 2012 and the festival, head over to www.gdceurope.com and www.gamescomfestival.de.
