When the gaming industry swelled so much in the early 90’s that it no longer had enough space in the form of a few tents at the CES electronics show, game companies realized that something had to change and in 1995 organized the first gaming expo, E3. And while the popular event still draws attention from around the world every year, the industry is not alone in keeping its finger on the pulse of the gaming world. Here’s a look at the history of the emergence of key gaming exhibitions and festivals.
1972 – Pong at Andy Capp’s Tavern
The first gaming exhibition of its kind can be considered a demonstration of one of the first Pong arcade machines at Andy Capp’s Tavern. Allan Alcorn, the creator of the game and an Atari engineer, decided to test the machine and installed it in the bar of an acquaintance. Pong was well received by visitors, but soon complaints about the machine’s performance began and it turned out that the reason was the coin receiver, which was full of quarters.
1988 – Game Developer Conference
A true veteran and at the same time the largest event, gathering annually more than 26 thousand professionals of the game industry. Programmers, artists, producers, game designers and businessmen listen to lectures and discuss the development of interactive entertainment and exchange ideas about the possible future.
1988 – European Computer Trade Show
The London ECTS also attracted mainly industry professionals, but was more oriented towards journalists and the press. Despite the fact that ECTS attracted hardcore publishers, the show officially closed in 2005 after 17 years of existence.
1989 – A-Kon
An anime culture event held in Dallas, Texas. Video game fans, A-Kon should primarily be interested in its console tournaments for a wide range of games, from Mortal Kombat for PS4 to Pokken Tournament for Wii U.
1995 – E3
A festival second perhaps only to Germany’s Gamescom in popularity. Tired of the mediocre treatment at various electronics shows, major game companies decided not to break through the closed door and in 1994 founded the Interactive Digital Software Association, an association of software and video game manufacturers. Already in 1995 the association organized the first E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) and immediately attracted 50 thousand visitors, thus becoming the largest debut among such events. The festival was held on the area of 65000 square meters, Sega Saturn was presented and the first Playstation, Virtual Boy and Neo Geo CD were announced. Unfortunately, anyone wishing to attend E3 needed to provide proof that their activities were at least indirectly related to video games.
1996 – Tokyo Game Show
The Japanese TGS festival is mainly centered around the Japanese gaming market with a few exceptions in the form of international releases. Despite this, TGS is one of the largest and most popular festivals, attracting 200,000 people over the past five years. Namco Bandai, Sony, Capcom, Konami, and Square Enix are all regulars at the festival. In addition to games, TGS showcases the latest developments in gaming devices, educates the younger generation about possible careers in the industry, and hosts performances by top cosplayers from around the world.
1996 – QuakeCon
QuakeCon was born when players on EFnet IRC got bored of playing long distance and decided to have a real Quake party instead. After some thought, they organized a QuakeCon at a hotel in Dallas. Everything went well and the next year, the number of players grew from 100 to 650 people. For the first few years the guys managed to organize it themselves, but as the number of attendees grew, they needed help and handed the job over to id Software.
2002 – D.I.C.E. Summit
D.I.C.E is a forum of gaming industry bigwigs held in Las Vegas. It differs from GDC in its focus on the business side of the industry and the latest trends and innovations in game design and beyond.
In different years the leading speakers of the summit were Gabe Newell, Bobby Kotick, Hideo Kojima, Todd Howard and director Gore Verbinski.
2002 – Games Convention
One of the biggest European festivals in the past, held in Leipzig. Besides the games themselves, the fair focused on game technology and basically anything related to the game industry. It originated under the management of Leipziger Messe, Leipzig’s famous fair. Rapidly gaining popularity, the festival began to compete with the Japanese Tokyo Game Show and American E3, gathering in 2008 more than 200 thousand visitors.
2002 – MAGfest
A three-day festival with a focus on indie games and everything related to them. At MAGfest you’ll find a huge hall with demos from developers, but what really sets the event apart from its competitors is its spirit. For example, at the festival there is a room full of all kinds of arcade machines, including Japanese-made ones. There is a room with dozens of TVs and consoles, on which you can play at any time, choosing a game from the extensive library of the festival. It’s also impossible not to mention that MAGfest is perhaps the favorite place for musicians of all kinds. From composers, to chiptune performers of game music.
2004 – PAX
A series of gaming festivals founded by the creators of the famous webcomic Panny Arcade. They set a goal to make a real festival for all game fans and they undoubtedly succeeded.
The highlight of the festival is the “Omegathon” tournament. Several randomly selected visitors compete throughout the event, playing the most unexpected games from Tetris and Mario Kart to Halo 3 and Portal 2. In doing so, the winner receives worthwhile prizes. At various times, Omegathon champions have taken home $5,000 checks and tickets to the Tokyo Game Show. And the very first winner got a particularly tasty bundle: every game ever released on the PS2.
2005 – IndieCade
Unlike IGF, which is essentially more of an award than a festival, IndieCade is a true haven for indie developers. Separated from E3, the festival moved to Los Angeles, where it hosts its own indie paradise each year. IndieCade takes originality among other things, hosting something called GameSlam, where all developers are given 90 seconds to tell the audience about their game. Also worth noting is GameWalk, which is a free-for-all exhibition of forty selected finalist games. The exhibition takes place in four buildings in an alleyway in Culver City.
2005 – BlizzCon
When Blizzard could no longer ignore the huge army of fans that it had spawned with the release of World of Warcraft, the company decided to give Alliance and Horde fans a celebration. As you can guess, the whole festival is aimed at promoting Blizzard Entertainment’s main franchises. All visitors receive a “swag bag” set, in which you can find collectible character figurines or codes for in-game content. In addition, Blizzard delights fans with private tests of new products, and every year the festival is closed by famous musicians such as Metallica and Linkin Park.
2009 – GamesCom
The largest gaming festival in the world, both in terms of the area it occupies and attendance. GamesCom is essentially the Games Convention that moved from Leipzig to Cologne. With a world record attendance of 345,000 in 2015, the festival is the undisputed leader and a must-attend for all top gaming companies. All the latest innovations and trends in the gaming industry are definitely covered at Gamescom.
2008 – EGX
Eurogamer Expo is another major European festival, which in 2015 gathered 75 thousand visitors. As the main event is focused on top console games, the festival has spun off in the form of EGX Reezed, a more intimate event for fans of indie games and PC in general.
2010 – Paris Games Week
A relatively young but rapidly growing gaming festival, especially notorious for the recent Sony conference. At the last event Sony made a real boom, having prepared a lot of exclusives for PGW, such as the first shots of the next game from Quantic Dream – Detroit or the announcement of the development of GT Sport – the world’s first car simulator, which in a sense is a full-fledged racing championship. In the end, the already not small festival in 2015 gathered 307 thousand visitors in five day