Guess Where You're Going Next August?

Electronic Gaming Business, Sept 22, 2004

By Dieter Marchsreiter and Erica Kohnke Kain

Strike up the oompah-band and pass the beer - Germany is now hosting one of the biggest gaming trade shows, one that is making its way onto game publishers' calendars worldwide.

Their latest offering is the Games Convention in Leipzig, which was held last month. Nearly 105,000 attendees came to this year's Games Convention, including more than 4,000 of them business visitors.

After just three years, it has become the most important trade show in Central Europe. The show, which is a combination of a consumer show, trade show and developer's conference.

The combination of consumers, publishers and developers makes for a diverse scene.

The developers enjoy their "GCDC" -- a smaller Games Developer Conference. English is the primary language, and August's show featured developer guru Bob Bates.

In the well-appointed "Business Center," business visitors and resellers meet in quiet spaces replete with small bars and stand-up tables for impromptu get-togethers. It's not unusual to see industry bigwigs drinking beers, smoking cigarettes and striking deals - all within their own booth.

Kids and gamers of all ages have the time of their lives in the main exhibition halls. Unlike most of the trade shows in the US, it's not bad form to go "trick-or-treating" from booth to booth, begging for posters and giveaways. In one case, eager gamers were performing sit-ups for stickers.

In a country famous for its game censoring and "green blood" rules, it's not surprising to find some efforts that acknowledge underage gamers. For example, kids coming into the show receive wristbands to indicate which age group they are in - and are thus restricted from viewing inappropriate content. In addition, the Games Convention includes several educational centers - GC Kindergarten and GC Family - to help families learn about edutainment and family products.

Outside of the convention center, the whole city celebrates the Games Convention with banners and parties. In this city in which both Bach and Beethoven performed, it would be bad form not to set the celebration to music. The FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague opened the 2004 show with a concert featuring the work of famous game musicians. A concert that included Koji Kondo's theme from Super Mario Bros., two songs from The Secret of Monkey Island arranged by Fabian del Priore and many other game theme songs, was received with a standing ovation.

Most of the attendees came from mainland Europe. This includes Germanspeaking countries as well as a large contingent from Eastern Europe. The timing and location of the Leipzig show make it an ideal deal-making event for Eastern European publishers and distributors.

Game companies worldwide are also choosing to make announcements surrounding the show. From a PR perspective, the timing is terrific: months after E3, but before the London or Tokyo shows - the beginning of the media's holiday season. For example, at this year's show, the Playstation 2 and Xbox price cut announcements were highlights. Hideo Kojima introduced new details of Metal Gear Solid 3 and several other famous game designers promoted upcoming titles.

So consider participating in this growing show, where 1700 journalists from 21 countries are trolling for stories, covering world premieres - and next year (August 18-21, 2005), they'll be looking for you!

Dieter Marchsreiter is the PR director of Between us! in Munich/Germany, a public relations and marketing agency dedicated to interactive entertainment. www.betweenus.de

Erica Kohnke Kain is the President of Kohnke Communications in San Francisco. www.kohnkecomm.com

When in Germany....

* Bring Something New: You need to give the journalists something new to cover. Your E3 gameplay and presskits are old news: the European media need something new to cover your company. Remember to supply plenty of headshots and company photos.

* Schedule Appointments in Advance: The atmosphere of the business center is not as conducive to drop-ins as E3 is. And it's Germany, where promptness is valued, so be on time for the appointments you schedule.

* Bring Cash: Unlike E3, your corporate card won't help in cabs, with catering or many restaurants. Don't expect to pay by credit card everywhere. Cabs, catering, even restaurants might not like any of your credit cards.

* Bring German: Germans usually speak English well. But in former East Germany, this is not the case. Up until 1989, Germans learned Russian, not English, in school. So be prepared with some basic vocabulary: "Wo ist der Hauptbahnhof," "Zur Messe bitte," "Ich will ein Schnitzel," and the ever popular "Drei Bier fur jeden!" Alternatively, bring a German speaker who can help you negotiate the town.

* Use the Train: The ICE train from Frankfurt to Leipzig is just a few hours, and much less expensive than a Flying to Leipzig is very expensive - fly to Frankfurt and go by train a few hours trough lush landscapes.

* Stay Anywhere: The Leipzig Marriott is the most centrally located, and a very nice hotel in town. But in Leipzig you can get anywhere you want in a taxi in 10 minutes. There are no E3-style hour-long traffic jams to contend with. There are some charming towns outside of Leipzig that you might enjoy as well.