Besides keeping an eye on new releases, there are traditionally a handful of important dates in the gaming calendar. The season starts with the Game Developers Conference in early March, sweeps through to E3 in June. You then get a cluster of them up to September with PAX, Gamescom and the Tokyo Games Show. You’ll even find video games spilling over into the San Diego Comic Con and Gen Con.
Over in the UK we’re blessed with a single visit from the game industry. The Eurogamer Expo lands in London towards the end of September, being one of the last stops for the year. It’s a rare chance for British gamers to try out some of the upcoming releases. On Saturday 24th September I’ll be there, soaking up the atmosphere in Earls Court.
There’s two main reasons I’m attending: Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I’m keen to get a look at both games since they’re the two hottest MMOs that are talked about at the moment, plus it’s going to be interesting to play them off against each other. I’m also interested to see if people are planning an MMO “flight path” from Warcraft to Rift to The Old Republic to Guild Wars 2, instead of betting on a game for months or years.
I’m also looking at giving some of the non-MMO titles a go. ID Software’s RAGE promises to be available, as does Valve’s Counter Strike: Global Offensive. There’s also hints that The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim will put in an appearance (although this is unconfirmed). Have a look at the full list if you’re interested in what else is on that might take your fancy.
There might also be a bit of a meetup going on. I’ve been having a few conversations with other bloggers, writers and co-conspirators and we’re going to try and get together sometime on the day. Whether we end up chewing over our top picks of the expo or sharing our thoughts on the general state of gaming remains to be seen, but there’ll probably be something. Updates will happen nearer the time once we sort out what we’re going to do.
In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with something fresh from my childhood. Sonic Generations is going to be playable at the Expo, and includes remakes of levels from the original game released twenty years ago. The new installment from Sonic Team comes out in November, and I can hardly wait.
I have always lamented the fact that all the great, exciting cons and expos I would personally enjoy do not grace Europe – I am clearly living in the wrong parts of the world when it comes to my passions. 🙁 only just been to the UK, so September is out. The Gamescom is currently happening in Köln this weekend – few of my friends are traveling there, unfortunately I cannot attend. I wonder how things are going to develop in the future, Europe and Asia being and becoming bigger and bigger MMO markets. here’s to hoping!
True. I also think that the European convention circuit really needs to get it’s act together around events – we have Leipzig, Gamescom and Eurogamer Expo within a few weeks of eachother and all competing for attention.
That said, if the lineup at Gamescom looks good next year I might plan on heading down there. It’s a fair trek though, so it’s got to be worth it.