First big names sign up for GameCity event

Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Bizarre Creations are just some of the companies confirmed for Nottinghamâs GameCity event, GamesIndustry.biz can exclusively reveal.

With the dust barely settled on both the Leipzig Games Convention and the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival, Europe will once again be the focus of the games industry when the GameCity event takes place from October 25th - 31st.

Individuals already confirmed for the show include Lorne Lanning, president of Oddworld Inhabitants; Jonathan Smith, development director at TT Games; Jamie Fristrom, technical director of Torpex Games; and musician Richard Jacques and Jim Purbrick of Linden Labs, the studio behind Second Life.

The healthy list of developers confirmed for GameCity includes Blitz, Bizarre Creations, Freestyle Games, Monumental Games, Rare, Introversion and Climax, with more to follow.

Publishers already committed to the festival include THQ, Electronic Arts, SCEE and Take 2, with more names to be announced in the coming weeks.

GameCityâs organisers describe the event as "a street-level cultural celebration of videogames and interactive entertainment, and an opportunity for the games industry an public to meet and explore economic, social and educational opportunities within interactive entertainment".

More details are set to be revealed shortly, including finalised dates and times for conference sessions, workshops, screenings and the premier of a new film, plus news of what the organisers describe as a "big name" who will open the festival.