We. Are. Confused. 2008 was supposed to be the last year the Games Convention was held in Leipzig. Starting next year, we were meant to get a bigger, badder European show in the more travel-friendly city of Cologne. We were happy with this news, we'd accepted it, were reading up on Cologne seeing who does the best fry-up breakfast. But now the organisers of Leipzig have announced that they'll be staying on, and will be holding another Games Convention in 2009. Which, if we're not mistaken, will give us two tradeshows in Germany next year. And we all know that, in the interests of good business, there can (and shold) be only one.

Leipzig Games Convention Not Moving [Next-Gen]

Nintendo Not Attending Leipzig This Year

For those of you planning to travel to the Games Convention in Leipzig this year will be happy to know that the organizers are making it easier for you to get there. Many additions ahve been made including six new charter flights from various locations in Europe including Amsterdam, Helsinki, London, Munich, Paris and Vienna. If the plane isn't your thing you can also take the Deutsche Bahn which will have a special ticket that can be purchased by conventioneers from any DB rail station. And if that isn't enough for you, direct coach service will be available from over 30 locations in Germany itself.

Leipzig announces travel improvements [GamesIndustry.biz]

Leipzig Might (*Might*) Still Go Ahead in 2009

steht die Games Convention 2009 weiterhin im Kalender (For now, the 2009 Games Convention is still on the calendar).

Leipzig Officially Moving To Köln

Leipzig Looking More And More Likely To Move

Far Cry 2 Leipzig Demo

This looks to be the public demo that was being shown during Leipzig of Far Cry 2. Not exactly what I saw when I wrote about the game last month, but it still gives you a good feel for it.

I've kinda grown fond of Leipzig. Sure there's not a whole bunch to do there and having the opportunity to check out Berlin, Munich or Frankfurt every night after spending the day covering the Games Convention would be Zuuupear Koole, but there's something to be said for a town dwarfed by the show it hosts.

Games Industry reports that the only way the Games Convention could leave Leipzig is if they convention hall hosting it said it was OK. That's because the Leipziger Messe actually owns the Games Convention name and brand. And I can't imagine they'll every let that bad boy get away.

Next year? I think we'll be staying in Leipzig proper instead of "quaint" Halle.

GC likely to remain in Leipzig [Games Industry]

Rock Band Vs. Reality

Rock Band may make you feel like a rock star...but video playback tells a different story. Even EA's industrial strength fog machines can't make me look good normal playing the drums.

So much for my fantasies of snorting coke off a pair of perfectly spandexed roadie GROUPIE butt cheeks.

Public Play Pong Dress

GC Asia Announced Just to Piss Us Off

ENOUGH WITH THE SHOWS. E3 ends, and shortly after that, there's Leipzig. Just after that, there is PAX. Then? Then we've got the Tokyo Games Show. But between PAX and TGS, there's GC Asia, which runs from September 6-9 in Singapore. Sony will be in appearance at GCA, showing off PS3 and PSP games, while Nintendo will be using the event to launch the Wii in the region (cue Wii Sports kiosks). Also, Electronic Arts will be showing off 15 titles, including Crysis, FIFA 08 and Rock Band. Expect appearances by Blizzard and Nokia NGage as well!

Seriously. Event organizers, spread this stuff out so we can actually cover it all without dying. This is getting RIDICULOUS.
GC Asia Info [Games Industry]

Killzone 2 Developer Walkthrough

Halo 3 The Ride, Hands-On

by Mark Wilson & Michael McWhertor

Here it is everyone—our promised first look at Bungie's highly anticipated Halo 3: The Ride that made its world debut this week in Leipzig. If you have any interest at all in Halo 3: The Ride, it's a worthy watch.

The Games Convention may have wrapped up Sunday evening, but our coverage continues. Expect to see more impressions, stories, videos, cultural oddities and images from Leipzig over the remaining week. In case you missed what we've done so far I've listed our stories to date on the jump.

We are officially eight beers and about two Jager Bombs into the show. After hanging out at the Activision booth for way too long watching McWhertor pwn at Guitar Hero III, we realized we were out of time and high-tailed it to Hall number three where Sony and, more importantly, SingStar was located.

We arrived just in time to find a clutch of booth babes and booth bucks hogging the machine doing a monstrously-bad rendition of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive." The song, or attempt at a song, ended with the woman in charge of the microphone thanking everyone and tuning off the sound system. It took a little sweet talking by Mark, Mike and I before we convinced them to let us, sans beer, to get them to turn on the sound again and have a go at a song... specifically Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf", the drunk man's opus.

After knocking it out of the ballpark, Mike and I walked from the stage trying our best to keep the shrieking fans from tearing our t-shirts from our sweating backs. Fortunately, we found shelter in a beer garden where I sat to type this, perhaps my last bit of prose, out to you, our beloved readers. I gotta pee, back back later.

Michael McWhertor drunkenly copy edited this drunkenly written post.

The Sony Sprint

What's the fan rush look like at GC07? We risked life and limb to put you right in the action. Seriously, about 30 photographers are lined up in front of thousands of fanboys. It's scary. And this is just one of three entrances to the show floor.

So what big company is behind us? Sony.