Sep 03, 4:03 pm
Well, I’ve had a week to calm down since Sarin and I attended the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany, but I’m still having trouble writing about it! Quite a rarity for me.
First of all, it exceeded my expectations. Every exhibitor clearly worked hard, and they were all rewarded by a great turn-out of gamers. It is so wonderful to see a thriving games convention in Europe. So often we get the crappy deal with software and hardware releases, as well as having to sit back and watch amazing shows like Tokyo Game Show and E3 unfold far from our native lands (well, I suppose we don’t really need to worry too much about the latter anymore...) Leipzig was a great example that gaming in Europe IS thriving, it IS here to stay, and developers and publishers alike should stand up and take notice of that.
So, the highlights? Getting to play a (granted, rather shaky) demo of Viva Pinata, the fantastic Phantasy Star Universe, and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz for the Wii. Blagging our way into Capcom’s V.I.P. section to check out the single-player and multi-player modes for Lost Planet. Talking to (amongst many!) Jennie Sue from Sega, Steve Cartwright from Capcom, and catching up with Colonel Antal from Ubisoft about Brothers in Arms III - one of the perks of being a Frag Doll! And, of course, watching Sarin get “arrested” by a blonde and buxom booth babe for Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
And the disappointments? Lack of any Wii footage - trailer or otherwise - on the consumer floor. Lack of playable PS3 footage. And, most importantly, lack of David Hasslehoff.
We’re currently ploughing through eight hours worth of Leipzig footage, and hopefully some of it will surface for your viewing pleasure in the near future. Until then…
