Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 23, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Even before the official start of Games Convention 2006 (August 24 to 27, 2006) in Leipzig, the organisers are reporting record figures. Accordingly, 368 exhibitors from 25 countries (2005: 280 exhibitors from 15 countries) will come to “Europe’s leading trade show for interactive entertainment, info- and edutainment”, an increase of 32 percent. The area has grown by 13 percent to 90,000 square metres. The GC Business Center (B2B) – conceived as a meeting point for trade, developers, publishers, manufacturers and service providers – also grew by 30 percent to 20,000 square metres, according to Leipzig Trade Fair. A total of “well over 150,000 visitors” are expected (2005: 134,000).
The keynote speech at the GC will be given by Will Wright, inventor of “Sim City”, “The Sims” and “Spore”. He is one of the most internationally successful designers of interactive entertainment. In his speech, Wright intends to present his ideas on the future of digital entertainment.
The GCDC developers’ conference preceding the trade show (August 21 to 23, 2006) counted 600 participants this year. “Within the past four years, the GCDC has established itself as the industry’s most important European platform. The number of participants from Germany and abroad has risen steadily,” explains project director Angela Schierholz. This year’s main subjects were the areas of development, business and science, each of which was introduced with international keynotes. The speakers included Bob Bates (Chairman IGDA), Don L. Daglow (President, CEO Stormfront Studios) and developer legend Peter Molyneux (Lionhead), among others.
