Top 10 of 2009: News
What were the key stories running through the past year? Find out here
Number 8: Shows - New and Revived
The events landscape in 2008 was curious, to say the least. On the one hand the industry was pretty vocal about its disappointment that the E3 Expo had fallen so far from grace, with few attendees and no spectacle at all; while on the other hand it fully endorsed binning a hugely successful and organically-grown public show in Leipzig. While the plight of the flagship US and European events both had their own logic, put side-by-side it made no sense at all.
Thankfully 2009 will be remembered as the year that E3 returned to form, as the LA Convention Center ceased to be the cavernous, echoing place it was in 2007 and 2008, and filled once again with genuine attraction and excitement.
For one thing, the unveiling of the motion control solutions by Microsoft and Sony (more on those later) caused more than a little stir - the excitement in the Microsoft press conference when the scope of Project Natal was explained was palpable, for example.
But we also saw a proper return to game announcements, with the likes of Modern Warfare 2 (more on that later, as well) being shown off in its full 'ice level' glory.
The resulting column inches and mainstream press attention shot up compared to the previous two years, and while the macroeconomic situation was less than thrilling, the sun shone once more on the industry's favourite showcase.
Then, a couple of months later, in 40-degree heat on the banks of the Rhine, Cologne's gamescom kicked off with mercifully few teething problems and a very respectable industry and consumer attendance.
Sony chose to use the event to finally announce the PlayStation 3 Slim and crucial price repositioning, while the inaugural GDC Europe event kept its keynote and session focus firmly on the European issues.
Overall, while the process of shifting from Leipzig to Cologne had been politically difficult, the outcome was generally positive - and with Leipziger Messe keen to develop its own new Games Convention Online brand, 2010 should be an even more compelling place to conduct business.