German industry event ´Games Convention´ to relocate for 2008

Europe´s biggest computer and videogame trade show, the German Games Convention, will relocate for 2008, several industry insiders have told me in confidence.

Until now, the event has been held in Leipzig every August. But, apparently, several large exhibitors are unhappy with the location and are pushing for the show to relocate. Leipzig has a modern site with five halls and additional outdoor space. But the city is hard to reach. Leipzig only has a small airport and is located in the east of the country.

It appears that no definite decision has been made about the new location. Several cities are said to be in the running, however, with two cities mentioned as the most likely to inherit the event.

Frankfurt is home to the world´s third largest venue for trade shows and hosts the book fair and the automobile show, both of which are the world´s largest.

Cologne boasts the world´s largest photographic and imaging fair, as well as the most important furniture fair.

The ´Games Convention´ took place for the first time in 2002. The dates for this year are 23rd to 26th of August.

EDIT The local government of the state of Hesse has openly thrown their weight behind Frankfurt´s bid for the ´Games Convention´. At the Gameplaces event, Minister Volker Hoff said that Frankfurt was the ideal location for the large trade show, as German technology news service Heise reports.

Hoff pointed to the airport (the world´s eighth-largest in terms of passenger count) and the fact that many studios and publishers are located nearby. Indeed, here is the impressive list:

Nintendo of Europe in Großostheim and Frankfurt
Sony Computer Entertainment Germany in Neu-Isenburg
Atari Germany in Frankfurt
Konami Germany in Frankfurt
Sunflowers in Heusenstamm (´Anno 1701´ aka ´1701 A.D.´, ´ParaWorld´)
10Tacle in Darmstadt (´Elveon´, ´GTR´)
Crytek in Frankfurt (´Far Cry´, ´Crysis´)
Related Designs in Mainz (´Anno 1701´ aka ´1701 A.D.´)
Deck13 in Frankfurt (´Ankh´, ´Jack Keane´)
Keen Games in Frankfurt (´Anno 1701´ for DS, ´Secret Files Tunguska´ for Wii)

The article continues with a rebuttal on behalf of the ´Games Convention´ owners, the Messe Leipzig. According to the company´s boss Wolfgang Marzin, the industry fully supports Leipzig. "We know from the industry that the current concept is the only viable one for the GC and that one belongs to Leipzig." Well, that is not what the industry told me. Remember where you read this story first.

Thanks to: Kotaku, Joystiq