GC - Games Convention 2007 Opens with Record Figures:

GC - Games Convention 2007

(23 to 26 August 2007)

Press & Trade Visitor Day: 22 August 2007

Leipzig, 22 August 2007

25 Percent more Surface Area

200,000 Visitors Expected

Approximately 2,800 Journalists from over 35 Countries

Over 225 World, European and German Premieres

Starting signal for the GC - Games Convention 2007! Europe's leading fair for entertainment, infotainment, edutainment and hardware welcomes its visitors with record figures once again. 503 exhibitors from 31 countries (2005: 374 exhibitors from 24 countries) are presenting their latest products this year, on a total of 112,500 square metres (2006: 90,000 square metres). This represents an increase in size for the exhibition area of 25 percent over the previous year.

"This year I am convinced that we will have up to 200,000 visitors at the GC", says Josef Rahmen, Managing Director of the Leipziger Messe. Last year saw a total of 183,000 visitors welcomed to the exhibition centre site. "The GC is continuing to build upon its position as the leading European fair. This year we are expecting over 9,000 trade visitors and some 2,800 journalists from over 35 countries."

Particularly strong growth has been recorded for the GC Business Center (B2B), the international meeting point for commerce, developers, publishers, manufacturers and service providers from the computer and video game sector. Exhibitors from over 29 different countries are in attendance this year, including several communal stands from Germany, France, Canada and Singapore. "The GC Business Center offers ideal conditions for completing orders for the forthcoming Christmas business. This is underlined by the extremely high demand. International exhibitors in particular are increasingly being attracted to Leipzig", declares Peggy Schönbeck, GC Project Director. The GC Business Center comprises the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) and complete Hall 1. With this, the GC Business Center boasts an exhibition surface area of 30,000 square metres (gross). Overall, exhibitors have announced over 225 world, European and German premieres for the GC 2007.

GC Gala Opens the Fair

Games Music Concert Promises an Audio Treat

This year the GC will be ceremonially opened with the GC Gala. Over 600 invited guests from the fields of business, politics, media and the exhibiting companies will be treated to an atmospheric evening in the Glass hall of the Leipziger Messe on 22 August. The opening speeches will be given by Wolfgang Tiefensee, Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and Federal Government Commissioner for the New Federal States, Dr. Georg Milbradt, Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony and the Mayor of the City of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung.

At the same time, the traditional games music concert will be staged for the fifth time at the Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig. Fans of classical interpretations of games music can look forward to a musical masterpiece. For a total of two hours, the renowned FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague, conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, will play title melodies from popular computer and video games.

In the presence of well-known games music composers such as Chris Hülsbeck and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi extracts will be played from Final Fantasy XI, StarCraft, New Super Mario Bros, Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and a Commodore 64 medley and Commodore Amiga medley. Absolute highlights of the performance are the appearance of the Japanese star opera singer Izumi Masuda, the German singer Conny Kollet and world-class percussion artist Rony Barrak from the Lebanon. The programme is hosted by the well-known TV presenter Roman Knoblauch.

GC Freestyle Extends Entertainment Spectrum

The GC offers even more excitement this year. From 22 to 26 August the Leipziger Messe is staging an open-air summer festival for the first time, the GC Freestyle. After the GC has closed its doors for the day the Stadion des Friedens (Max-Liebermann-Straße) is the venue for exclusive live concerts, numerous sporting activities and its own open-air swimming pool. In addition, a campsite offers the option of overnight stays for visitors. "With the GC Freestyle we aim to provide younger GC visitors with a full-service package. People coming to Leipzig should be having fun and not have to worry about looking for accommodation", says Peggy Schönbeck, GC Project Director.

Day tickets are available for 43 Euro, four-day tickets for 130 Euro. In addition to access to the GC freestyle site, the tickets are also valid for admittance to the GC and use of public transport. Those only wishing to attend the concerts pay 19.80 Euro plus advanced booking fee. The three concerts in the package can be attended for 50.00 Euro plus advanced booking fee. Tickets are available at www.gc-germany.com, at www.funtix.de, at sales counters in the Glass hall of the Leipziger Messe or on the doors.

Fans of German rock music, in particular, are in for a treat. On Thursday evening four young German music groups will take to the stage at the GC Freestyle; Dante's Dream, Madsen, Revolverheld und Virginia Jetzt!. Bands from the music scene will also be playing into the night on the other evenings, with acts including the crossover band H-Blockx and Hamburg rapper Samy Deluxe. An up-and-coming new band is also present, in the form of Nevada Tan.

GC family with Hall of Its Own

This year's GC family is presented under the motto "Learning through play and learning to play". The specialised area for media skills in the family, learning and school software and child-friendly media provides information to parents, teachers and children on all questions regarding interactive play and learning. New this year: for the first time, the GC family will have its own hall (Hall 5). On a total of 7,500 square metres (2006: 5,000 square metres), developers of children's and family software, providers of educational and learning software, educational web portals and media institutions will present their wares.

The GC family addresses two new topics this year, with the GC Educational Forum and the sub-section Training & Profession. Alongside this is the classic Family Entertainment area, which provides families with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with current learning and games software together.

In the new Training & Profession section visitors can experience features such as a glass development studio. In co-operation with the Bundesverband für Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware e.V. (BIU) and exDream Studios the Leipziger Messe provides a peek behind the scenes at a games development studio. The typical creation process of a casual game is illustrated in four stages. Visitors can look over the shoulders of programmers and obtain information about just what the job of games developer entails.

One particular activity is organised by the GC family exhibitor Rabenstark Spielzeuge. All families that can prove that they travelled to this year's GC with the Deutsche Bahn are presented with a free copy of the computer game "Ich habe einen Freund, der ist Lokführer" (I have a friend that's a train driver).

GC ART Draws in Visitors with Four Exhibitions on Digital Games

Following the successful launch of the GC ART exhibition area last year, this year sees the GC (Games Convention) repeat its display of computer and console art once again. The exhibitions "public_play", "Telespiele 1972-2007", "Machinima" and "Digital Beauty - 3D Character Design" will be providing visitors with a look at different aspects of digital games in Hall 5. Numerous workshops provide interested visitors with the opportunity to create small works of art of their own.

Fun-Sport, Casemodding, Animé Cinema and Games Figure Exhibition

The GC also offers a number of attractions for those breaks between games. Numerous fun sport areas offer activities such as ice-skating (Hall 4), human bowling (Hall 2) and beach volleyball (open exhibition area). Those in search of relaxation can lounge on a comfortable GC beanbag in one of the three chill-out areas or take a look at the games figure exhibition in Hall 5. Here they can admire life-size figures of characters including Super Mario, Darth Vader and Lara Croft.

Put a stop to boring PC cases! The Casemodding@GC exhibition shows GC visitors that a computer is not something that has to be concealed beneath a desk. More and more creative craftsmen from the computer scene are joining the trend in casemodding, with some of their most spectacular works of art presented at the GC. Casemodding is a kind of specialised tuning: optical refinements and unique functions turn the standard grey cases into radiant media centres. A unique competition, the GC CasemodMasters (GCCM), sees the best German casemodders compete against each other for the fourth time. The competition is organised by the Leipziger Messe and casemodding community experts casemodder.de.

Attention all animé fans: In Hall 4 GC visitors can enjoy an animé cinema for the first time. Viewers can dive into the colourful world of animé on a surface area of 340 square metres. With seating for 100, the cinema offers an opportunity to take relaxing time out from the turbulence of the games area.

GCDC 2007: The International Game Development Community Met In Leipzig Once Again

The fifth GC Developers Conference (GCDC), Europes most important developer's conference, ended today with a record participation of more than 870 attendees, who came from over 35 countries. At GCDC 2007, they obtained information on the latest trends in the developer sector, focusing on Online Gaming, Outsourcing and Business Development. "We want to provide the perfect environment for knowledge transfer and networking amongst international game developers and industry veterans on the highest possible level. The basis of our work is to organize a conference 'from developers for developers'", says Frank Sliwka, project director of GCDC. Speakers included Julian Eggebrecht (Faktor 5), Michael Capps (President, Epic Games), Tim Schafer (Double Fine Productions), Bruce Shelley (Ensemble Studios) and Bob Wallace (Strategic Alternatives).

GC 2006 Retrospective:

The GC 2006 was attended by a total of 183,000 visitors (2005: 134,000), with 200 world, European and German premieres presented by 374 exhibitors from 24 countries (2005: 280 exhibitors from 15 countries). Over 2,610 journalists from 38 countries (2005: 2,000 journalists from 28 countries) reported on Europe's leading trade and interactive fair in the sector, the focus of which was upon interactive entertainment.

Contact for the press:

Torsten Anke, Press Officer

Linda Brandt, Press Officer

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

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

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

Contact for exhibitors/visitors:

Peggy Schönbeck, Project Director

Telephone: +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