Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 19, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
From April 27 to 29, 2010, the computer-games industry meets at the 4th German Games Days at the Berlin Congress Center (bcc) in Berlin. The focus is on the development of the games industry in the face of the global economic crisis, new technologies and distribution strategies. The organiser is Aruba Events; Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg is the initiator and sponsor.
Berlin Senator for Economics Harald Wolf, Medienboard Managing Director Petra Müller and Stephan Reichart, Managing Director of Aruba Events, open the Games Days on April 27. Afterwards, a high-calibre panel discusses the current market situation, corporate strategies and opportunities at crossmedia interfaces. Participants include Dr Jan Wergin (Bigpoint), Joel Berger (Fox Interactive Media), Jin Choi (MTV Networks), Thomas A. Curran (Deutsche Telekom), Martin Hüppe (Cornelsen Verlag), Rainer Markussen (Gamigo) and Martin Moszkowicz (Constantin Film). Registration at http://www.deutsche-gamestage.de.
Once again, the heart of the German Games Days is Quo Vadis (April 28–29). Germany’s largest game-developers’ conference offers around 50 specialist events. The keynotes are also particularly interesting for a broader audience: developer legend Chris Taylor, one of the most influential figures in the games industry, opens the conference on April 28 with a keynote on the pitfalls in the
day-to-day business of independent development studios. Other speakers include Bob Wallace, Strategic Alternatives; Seung Hun Lee, Korean Game Developer Association; Thomas Bidaux, ICO Partner; and Carsten van Husen, Gameforge.
The glittering conclusion to the Games Days is the gala event for the German Computer Games Award, which is being presented in Berlin for the first time. Worth half a million euros, the prize is Germany’s highest award for interactive entertainment media. The organisers are Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann and the industry associations BIU e.V., BVDW e.V. and G.A.M.E. e.V. The categories
will be presented by Matthias Schweighöfer, Johanna Klum, Oliver Petszokat (Oli P.) and many others. Neumann and Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit welcome the nominees and high-ranking industry representatives to the festive award ceremony on April 29.
