Germany's GamesCom Attracts 245,000, Say Organizers

Organizers for last week's Cologne, Germany-based GamesCom consumer video game convention deemed the show a massive success, claiming it has paved the way for major media and entertainment fairs in the city. The five-day trade fair attracted a total of 245,000 attendees, organizers said, made up of 17,000 visitors to the trade show portion, and 228,000 coming to the consumer portion. It was the first year for GameCom. By comparison, GamesCom outpaced last year's Tokyo Game Show, which attracted 194,288 across four days. At its peak, the US-based E3 show attracted around 70,000 guests, although that convention is restricted to industry members. The premier GamesCom was held August 19-23 at Cologne's Koelnmesse. Organizers said 458 exhibiting companies came to the show from 31 different countries, taking up space in the center's 120,000 total square meters. Olaf Wolters with Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware said in a statement, "We are very proud of the premiere of gamescom. It fulfilled all our objectives right away and is the largest game trade fair in the world. Computer and video games are so attractive that our industry is breaking all records despite the economic crisis." Added Koelnmesse CEO: "This success is an important impetus for the future of Cologne media and entertainment fairs. It motivates us to expand even further on our trade fair offering for the digital creative economy."