I have mixed feelings on this.

On the one hand I feel really bad for organisers, Leipziger Messe. Their show has been the best in the world for both cosumers and trade particularly the last couple of years. It has grown significantly every year for five years and it attracts the industry's very top people. The convention centre is big and beautiful and the whole thing is extremely well organised. Personally my show was very successful this year and I basically can't praise it enough.

Unfortunately, once you step outside of the convention centre, the rest of Leipzig lets the whole thing down. It's by no means hell on earth but it's just a dull, inconvenient, isolated and indifferent place that contradicts the international spirit of the Messe and GC. The transport is a joke and getting there is as much hassle as making the trip to E3. It's cheap as chips which is nice, but I personally will not miss Leipzig (the place). Regardless, these guys have a lot to live up to if they want to match the success of the Games Convention show, let alone better it.

So the German industry is about to create 2 rival shows, at roughly the same time, which will divide the market and encourage lots of people to stay at home.

Sound familiar?

Since Germany used our multi-trade show debacle to transfer the main European event to Leipzeig, maybe this internecine warfare is our chance to get it back.

What I think is being forgotten is that it's the players or consumers who've made Leipzig such a success. Enough journalists have told me Leipzig isn't a show for major trade news so what is it? A massive testament to the organisers ability to get gamers together in one place for one. It's a shame Gamescom doesn't just try to make another great show and add to Germany's presence in the gaming event market rather than try to compete - that doesnt do anyone favours. Either way I'm sure the gamers will vote with their Euro's next year

This Oliver P. Kuhrt is a clown.

Such stupid behaviours will kill the german shows, we all saw what happened in UK a few years ago.

As far i'm concerned, seeing the huge success of GC 2008, the Gamecom project is dead.

I believe that Leipzig was a success but I only want one trade business to business event. As others have said, if there are 2 trade shows, they'll end up down the same route as the UK did.

The consumers will turn up wherever the event is being held and I don't believe that they will travel far. The visitors for Cologne and Leipzig will largely come from their own catchment areas, so why not have 2 consumer shows?

Cologne is more appealing for trade but is also more expensive for hotels and the like. The dates they have picked are also that bit later which might be an issue. Those dates will clash with a major retailer showcase next year which will force many to choose.

There seemed to be good UK press representation there this year, but little to no UK retail. Cologne will be more appealing to the UK community but only if it is the definitive event.

Leipzig is a bit of a boring place however only when you have no business in town, which means you are not that essential to the show to begin with. Every year we have three days of meetings back to back. Whether in the background we have Leipzig, Cologne, or Barcelona, is of no importance, as it's meetings and product reviews that most ofinternational trade comes for.

For the past years, we booked our hotel through organisers (very helpful), stayed within 3 minutes of the main train station, and it takes exactly 6 minutes for the express train to get us to Messe. Compared to navigating London subway, or trying to hail a taxi in the morning, at ECTS... Or spending almost 2 hours to get to Docklands... this is so much more effective, and so much better organised.

It would be a shame to see the success of Leipziger Messe turn sour because of the clash of egos. Right now, we have excellent show, convenient for international business, productive, effective, and by now well-established, which is helpful with planning for year on year.

Next year we will have new dates (less convenient for the Russian games industry, in case anyone bothers to ask), new location which means learning your way around new place both in town and at the exhibition grounds, higher expenses for all the team (which means fewer people will be able to come), and a big question mark on whether or not this or that partner will do one or the other show.

This is bad news.

"It would be a shame to see the success of Leipziger Messe turn sour because of the clash of egos."

Amen !

Cant we just bring back the old E3, have one big show, with all the hot women and huge OTT PSX, Ninty and Microsoft stands?? yeahhhh... and the aftershow partys at playboy mansion? :)

Have you realized, that:
The cologne fair ground is bigger than the New Leipzig Fair Ground, but they haven't one fair wich is so big as the GC (over 200.000 visitors in 4 public days), neither wich is so big like the Leipzig AMI (293.000 visitors). They wasn't able to organize and hold such a success in the last 50 years! But some dreamer see a Games industry fair in cologne with 400.000 visitors in near future. Dream on!
Leipzig had to restart their fair business in the early 90'th. The old Fairground (wich was bigger, then that one in cologne now) and the Fairhouses in the city lost their importance, because the yearly East-West-trade-fairs in spring and harvest were crashing like the Berlin wall.
The Leipzig fair is a success-story since 800 years! It will stay like the GC! But maybe their is now a real chance to establish a anywhere else! Congratulations BIU!
For more informations read "Leipzig Trade Fair" and "Cologne Trade Fair" at wikipedia!
Greetings from (I think, you know it) Leipzig, Germany
dshhn