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The Games Convention Drama

GC Saturday

Once upon a time there was this tiny exhibition called Games Convention. From day one it took place in that more or less little town called Leipzig. Over the years it grew and grew, so nowadays it’s in a state where many people think Leipzig isn’t able to cope with the massive amount of (under aged) kids anymore.

The most problematic thing are the halls, to be more specific: the connections between the halls. There are only tunnels that connect the center area with the different halls. These tunnels are rather small, so this year, they had to make them one-way which brought the inter-hall-traffic to its knees and it took more than 30 minutes from one hall to another.

This is where we are. 2008 however marks the last year of the deal between the
“Bundesverband der Unterhaltungsindustrie” (BIU) and “Messe Leipzig”. So, for 2009 the location is still undecided. Unfortunately Messe Leipzig holds the trademark for “Games Convention” which means no other city might use that now known brand when Leipzig loses the exhibition.

Of course, Messe Leipzig will try everything to keep it in town. Which is where the fun starts. Last week there were news claiming that Messe Leipzig had special deals with Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

Sony in its always-denying appearance obviously is doing what they do best: denying it. So you don’t really know who is right, as Sony will deny everything just in sake of denying it (look at the recent PS3 rumors which came true in just days after they were denied by Sony).

On the other hand Messe Leipzig will say everything just to get into the news (which might be the case for Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft too) and make people believe they will keep the GC in Leipzig until the end of time.

Currently nobody really knows yet what or rather where something will happen in 2009. Fact is: especially – but not exclusively – people not traveling from Germany would love to get the exhibition to a more central place, like Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin or – maybe – even Cologne. All of them have big airports; Frankfurt gets you to every important place on earth without any or just a single layover. Looking at a map you’ll quickly see that there are many better locations to hold a big exhibition.