Games Convention 2007 expects 200,000 visitors

This year's Games Convention will be the biggest ever, with over 200,000 people expected to visit the Leipzig Exhibition Centre in Germany, organisers have said.

That's compared to 60,000 across the three days of the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo trade event in Los Angeles Convention Centre.

Games Convention runs from August 23rd to 26th and incorporates business and public areas across its 115,000 square metres.

410 exhibitors from 26 countries have signed up to attend, with some 251 of those taking advantage of the GC Business Centre's expansion, which will now occupy the Congress Centre Leipzig (CCL) and Hall 1 of the exhibition centre.

Elsewhere, Exhibition Halls 2, 3 and 4 will provide the general public with a glimpse of the latest entertainment software, while Hall 5 hosts the "GC family" and "GC ART" sections.

The former incorporates the Family Entertainment area, where parents and their children can test the latest educational software; the GC Education Forum; and a Training & Careers section, which offers the chance to see inside a development studio, as well as advice.

"The GC is experiencing another growth spurt this year," said Leipzig Fair managing director Josef Rahmen. "Both the number of exhibiting companies and the individual presentation areas have clearly expanded over the last year."

GC 2007 runs from 9am to 6pm local time on Thursday (August 23rd) and Sunday (August 26th) and from 9am to 8pm on Friday and Saturday (August 24th/25th), while the GC Freestyle open-air summer festival (August 22nd to 28th) will run alongside with live concerts, a range of sports, an outdoor pool and camping facilities.

In addition to that, GC will open on August 22nd to allow members of the press and industry to tour the halls "in peace and quiet".