Poki games Gamescom is more than appropriate a week in Cologne.
The arena’s largest games point to has expanded dramatically in latest years with the launch of satellite events in varied markets; first with Gamescom Asia in Singapore, which debuted in 2021, and this year heading to Brazil with the primary Gamescom Latam.
The Cologne point to already prided itself on being an international match, attracting companies and company from all over the sphere and representing varied nations with the country pavilions came across in the business halls. But co-organiser Felix Falk, also managing director of German games trade association Game, says the physical expansion into varied territories demonstrates the global characteristic Gamescom aims to play in the games industry.
“We want to be probably the most relevant point to for the industry,” he says. “We want to sustain with the trends and dynamics of the industry as a point to to invent a stage and have probably the most exciting and most important game festival worldwide, connecting the industry and the community in real existence and also on a hybrid basis.
“The 2 satellites means that we’re now not top likely in one situation in the sphere. Need to you are in South America or Asia and you can’t arrive to Gamescom, Gamescom shall be discontinuance to you in the future.”
“The beauty of Gamescom is that or now not it’s now not top likely Opening Night Live, a two-hour showcase, and that’s it. There may be the connection to the real festival and a lot of potential composed to be came across”
Felix Falk, Gamescom
Christoph Werner, senior vice chairman of Gamescom’s organiser and venue Koelnmesse, adds that the success of those satellites is already boosting international participation at the Cologne point to. The alternative of country pavilions at this year’s point to has considered double digit increase, with 43 such cubicles from 33 nations.
With two additional territories underneath its belt, the Gamescom organisers are now centered on developing these reveals rather than seeking their subsequent expansion. While Falk says they remain begin to the likelihood, any additional match “has to be a weird and excellent match in inform to fulfil the promises Gamescom offers in case you begin up something unusual.”
He points to the feedback he skilled while visiting Gamescom Latam in June. The 2 most basic things he heard was that it was considerably larger than the BIG Festival that had arrive ahead of it, and that it felt very grand like Gamescom, albeit smaller.
“These two things are the promises and they are really now not easy to fulfil. You wish excellent timing, excellent partner spot up. It appropriate desires to be at the fair time, the fair space and we are happy that we had been able to accomplish this in Latam and in Asia. But you can’t begin up something every year someplace and ask a excellent match like this.”
In fact, there may be an opening in the US now that E3 isn’t any more, although Falk responds that those excellent matches are “hard to find in LA.” Nevertheless, with the longest running and perfect profile games trade point to now gone, is there an alternative for Gamescom to fill the void, both in Cologne or by coming to the US?
“So many other folks from the US and from all over the sphere are coming to Gamescom now in August, but also to Gamescom Latam and to Gamescom Asia,” says Falk. “So from our perspective, everything is already happening at Gamescom. There may be nothing missing fair now. If the industry also asks us to engage with [the US] even more in the future… well, that’s a examine I leave to the future.”
The death of E3 is an interesting lens via which we can look at the success of Gamescom. A key factor in its dying was the declining pork up from major publishers and platform holders. PlayStation, Digital Arts, Activision and others abandoned the point to years ago, and this year’s efforts to revive the match failed in no small part because the industry pork up failed to materialise — particularly from key players like Sony and Nintendo.
Neither platform holder is attending Gamescom 2024, and but the organisers announced yesterday that they’ve secured a file alternative of exhibitors — more than 1,400 companies — are expecting more attendees than in 2023. Falk even confirms that the absence of PlayStation, Nintendo and EA in certain outdated years “had no real manufacture on the community,” so how is Gamescom able to weather the kind of setbacks that killed E3?
For Falk, or now not it’s miles the community-pushed focal point of Gamescom and the range of companies on provide: “Or now not it’s miles so broad. With 1,000 exhibitors, you find something you like. You can employ three days at the point to and composed find something unusual.