Nearly 400 retail and distribution delegates from across Europe, Africa, Australia and beyond will descend on Lisbon in Portugal for a strictly non-media event running between Wednesday June 4th and Friday June 6th.

The 2008 Business Partners Summit follows the success of last year's inaugural Malta event, which was praised by all visitors as a hugely valuable insight into product and marketing plans for the second half of the year.

Sega and THQ are promising more of the same, but on a bigger scale than last year. "With no E3 and no pan-European trade event, we have joined forced with THQ to again spend quality time with our customers," Sega Europe boss Mike Hayes told MCV.

Sega and THQ had originally considered widening out the event to include another publisher, but have now chosen to stick to a similar format to last year.

"There would have been a logistical downside if we added anyone else in," said Hayes. "And we don't want to increase the amount of time buyers have to be out of the office.

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"We work well with THQ and are very happy to be tweaking rather than radically changing the event this year.”