GC continues success story in 2007

GC (Games Convention) 2007

(23 - 26 August 2007)

Press & Trade Visitor Day: 22 August 2007

Leipzig, 24 July 2007

GC family gets its own exhibition hall

Open-air summer festival adds to GC programme of events

The countdown has begun: in just a few weeks, GC (Games Convention) gets under way, Europe's number one fair for interactive entertainment, infotainment, edutainment and hardware. From 23 to 26 August, 410 exhibitors (2006: 368 exhibitors) from 26 countries are expected at the Leipzig Exhibition Centre. Compared to 2006, the exhibition area has increased by 28 per cent to 115,000 square metres (gross). "The GC is experiencing another growth spurt this year. Both the number of exhibiting companies and the individual presentation areas have clearly expanded over last year. At the same time, we expect a new record number of 200,000 visitors", says Josef Rahmen, managing director at the Leipzig Fair.

Adding still further to the fun, the outdoor area is actively included for the first time as an exhibition and event space. Opening hours have also changed this year, with the exhibition halls open on Thursday (23 August) and Sunday (26 August) from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday (24/25 August) from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m..

The GC is subdivided into a general public and a business section. A wide range of entertainment awaits visitors in the exhibition halls 2, 3 and 4. For four days, gamers will thrill to numerous German, European and world premieres. Hall 5 will be a little calmer, with GC family and GC ART.

This year for the first time, the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) and Hall 1 combine as the GC Business Center, the meeting place for national and international exhibitors, trade visitors and journalists. An appealingly designed setting is made available here to exhibiting companies, enabling them to talk about their own products and make new business contacts. 251 exhibitors (2006: 171 exhibitors) have already registered. This is a 47 per cent increase over last year. "The high level of registrations endorses our decision to make more space available in the GC Business Center. International exhibitors in particular are showing a clear increase", says Peggy Schönbeck, GC project director.

GC family gets its own exhibition hall

With its motto "Playful Learning and Learning to Play", this year's "GC family" is even bigger and more informative. The GC's special section for media literacy and child-appropriate media advises parents, teachers and children on all issues involved in interactive learning and playing. New this year: for the first time, the "GC family" has its own hall (Hall 5). A total area of 7,500 square metres (2006: 5,000 square metres) is occupied by developers of children's and family software, providers of school and educational software, education websites and media institutions.

The "GC Education Forum" and the "Training & Careers" sections bring two new topics to the "GC family". The classic "Family Entertainment" is also back, enabling families to try out the latest learning and education software together.

The new "Training & Careers" section includes a "Showcase Developer Studio". In cooperation with the Bundesverband für Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware e.V. (BIU) and the exDream-Studios, the Leipzig Fair provides a glimpse behind the scenes at a game developer studio. At four terminals, the typical production process for a casual game is on show. Visitors can look directly over the shoulders of programmers and find out about the career opportunities for game developers.

"GC family" exhibitor Rabenstark Spielzeuge has something special. All families with proof of having travelled to the GC by Deutsche Bahn will be given the computer game "Ich habe einen Freund, der ist Lokführer".

GC FREESTYLE turns night into day

Summer festival with many big names in music

It's a premiere this year for the "GC FREESTYLE" open-air summer festival. From 22 to 28 August, exclusive live concerts, a range of sports and their own outdoor pool await GC visitors after their day at the fair. A campsite is also available for overnight stays. Day tickets cost 43 euros, four-day tickets 130 euros. As well as the GC FREESTYLE area, tickets include entry to the GC and use of local public transport.

For concerts only, tickets cost 19.80 euros plus advance booking fee. The package of three concerts costs 50 euros plus advance booking fee. Tickets are available at www.gc-germany.com or from Funtix.

Alongside German rock bands Madsen, Revolverheld and Virginia Jetzt!, the GC (Games Convention) has also signed up six more top music groups. Among others, crossover band H-Blockx and the Hamburg rapper Samy Deluxe will be performing on the GC FREESTYLE stage. As one of the most talked-about newcomer bands, Nevada Tan is also on board.

The train now departing - by rail to the GC

Special trains for exhibitors and visitors

For the GC 2007, Deutsche Bahn AG is offering a rail travel special to Leipzig for exhibitors and trade visitors. It's easy and affordable to get to the trade fair city from any DB station in Germany - at a one-off special price: the return fare to Leipzig is 89 euros 2nd class and 139 euros 1st class. The offer can be booked with Deutsche Bahn on the hotline 01805/311153.

Deutsche Bahn is also laying on special trains for visitors. On 23 August, a train takes GC fans quickly and easily from Munich to Leipzig, and on 25 August, special trains are added from Cologne and Wiesbaden for travel to Leipzig. Tickets, including admission vouchers, start at 56 euros for the Munich-Leipzig route, and at 53 euros for Cologne - or Wiesbaden - to Leipzig.

Remaining tickets still available for computer game music concert

There has been big demand again for the computer game music concert. The public concert is at 8.00 p.m. on 22 August in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig. Conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague is this time including soundtracks from StarCraft, Final Fantaxy IX, Ragnarok 2, Stranglehold, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Easter, Secret of Mana, The Abbey, Turrican 2, as well as popular classics in a Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga medley.

The absolute highlight will be appearances by the Japanese star opera singer Izumi Masuda and singer Conny Kollet from Germany. Tickets are now on sale at www.gewandhaus.de and www.gc-germany.com at prices ranging from 14.50 euros to 41.50 euros.

GC Developers Conference in new conference rooms

>From 20 to 22 August 2007, the most important and biggest developer conference in Europe, the GC Developers Conference (GCDC) brings together internationally leading experts from the publisher and developer industry. New rooms are available to this year's delegates. Five conference rooms, the biggest accommodating up to 350 attendees, have been specially set up for the GCDC. They offer even better facilities and also shorten walking distances.

International keynote addresses, workshops, panel discussions and prestigious speakers from the computer, console and mobile device sectors provide insider know-how on the current trends, together with information on future issues. The three days of the GCDC are given over to the programme streams "Development", "Business" and "Science" and also give attendees many opportunities for networking. The key topics include "Mobile Gaming", "Server Technology", "Expert meets Students" and "Made in Germany". Developers, publishers and service providers also introduce themselves in the course of the conference. Last year's GCDC was attended by 650 conference delegates from 20 countries.

This year's opening keynote address is given this year by Julian Eggebrecht. He is currently working with his company Factor 5 on several next generation titles, including "Lair" for Playstation 3. Others who have agreed to speak in 2007 include Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios (UK), Jason Manley, Massive Black (USA), Michael Capps and Mark Rein, both from Epic (USA) and Mark Morris (Introversion).

"This year's conference programme promises to be the best since the launch of the GCDC. Never before have so many high-ranking representatives of industry signed up to be here. Speakers are coming to Leipzig this year from more than 35 countries", says Frank Sliwka, project director of the GCDC. "It is our stated aim to make the GCDC even more attractive. So we set great store by bringing speakers with controversial views together around the conference table". Registrations for the conference can be submitted at www.gcdc.eu.

Exclusive media and press visitor day

On 22 August, a day before the exhibition halls open to the general public, representatives of the media and industry can find out about the innovations and try out all the products in peace and quiet.

Contact for the press:

Torsten Anke, Press Officer

Phone: +49 (0)341 / 678 81 84

Fax: +49 (0)341 / 678 81 82

E-mail: t.anke@leipziger-messe.de

Contact for exhibitors:

Peggy Schönbeck, Project Director

Phone: +49 (0)341 / 678 82 81

Fax: +49 (0)341 / 678 82 82

E-mail: p.schoenbeck@leipziger-messe.de

Internet:

www.gc-germany.com

www.gcdc.eu

www.leipziger-messe.de