When Gamescom 20 begins in Cologne on August 2019, the focus should be on the community. This is what the organizers of the world's largest video game and entertainment fair have announced. No other medium has such a creative and passionate community as Games. Whether cosplayer, modder, eSportsman or streamer: The great commitment of the players makes them an elementary part of the games culture, creates new trends again and again and drives the development of the medium forward.
The community is actively involved in the development with their ideas and wishes even before a game is released. How dynamic and lively the relationship between the community and game developers is is particularly evident at Gamescom.
Community is an elementary part of games culture
The main theme and the trends of Gamescom 2019 were announced today by game - the Association of the German Games Industry and Koelnmesse as joint organizers in Berlin. The partner country of this year's Gamescom is Holland. Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, Digital State Minister Dorothee Bär, Dr. Joachim Stamp, Deputy Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and Minister for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration, and Cologne's Lord Mayor Henriette Reker take part.
"With its passionate commitment, the games community is an elementary part of the games culture and, in interaction with the game developers, plays a decisive role in shaping the medium's trends. Nowhere is this more evident than at Gamescom, the largest games festival in the world.”
Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - Association of the German Games Industry
Never before had game developers involved the communities so much in the development of new titles, explains Falk. They collected feedback on innovations, took up ideas and organized their own events - not least at Gamescom. The games industry would once again show the way for other branches of the economy, says Falk.
“Customers become a community with which the relationship is intensively cultivated because it makes a decisive contribution to success. That's another reason why we at Gamescom are focusing particularly on the community this year, starting with our new internationally streamed show 'Gamescom: Opening Night Live' and expanding the area for indie developers to making it more comfortable to stay in.”
Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - Association of the German Games Industry
As one of the Gamescom trends 2019, cloud gaming has the potential to change the games industry significantly. The big advantage: Since all essential calculations take place in data centers in cloud gaming, the player himself no longer needs particularly powerful hardware. This means that even the most technically demanding titles can be played on simple laptops, smartphones or tablets. All you need is a fast, low-latency internet connection.
Trending topics: cloud gaming, indie games
Initial offers such as PlayStation Now from Sony or GeForce NOW from NVIDIA are already available. Other companies have announced their own cloud gaming services, such as Microsoft and Google, or are working on technologies to further increase the performance of cloud services, such as "Orion" from Bethesda Softworks. The games industry is once again proving to be a technological pioneer: in no other area of cloud services is implementation so technically so demanding and complex.
"Whether cloud gaming or indie games: This year's Gamescom trends show in particular the great potential of Germany to become one of the international hotspots of the games industry. Germany has a very lively and creative indie scene. Germany is also one of the first markets to launch multiple cloud gaming offerings. At the same time, however, it is also becoming clear that we have to create the right framework conditions if we want to use this potential and not allow ourselves to be left behind by other, more committed countries. Above all, the long-term establishment of games funding and the timely expansion of fast broadband connections should be the focus for politicians.”
Felix Falk, Managing Director of game - Association of the German Games Industry
Indie games are another trend at Gamescom 2019. More than ever before, small, independent studios are developing games that stand out in a unique way, whether through serious themes, artistic approaches or an unusual design. Many creative and extraordinary titles as well as some surprise hits come from indie teams today.
In doing so, these independent studios have become an integral part of games culture. The possibility of being able to offer games cheaply worldwide via download portals as well as developer software that is easier to use have increased the trend towards indie games. The titles of these developers are also a crowd puller at Gamescom. With the new "indie village", the area for indie games has been significantly enlarged. This more than doubled the number of indie developers at Gamescom.
Gamescom 2019 with some innovations
More space, more space for visitors, an opening show and more program: Gamescom 2019 will be bigger, more colorful, more interactive - but above all, more relaxed for visitors. At least that is the plan of the organizers, who want to offer more highlights for the upcoming video game fair than ever before.
In 2019, Gamescom will cover a total of 210.000 square meters (+5 percent compared to 2018) and, thanks to other measures, promises more space and a better quality of stay for visitors. Games fans can also look forward to numerous innovations and hundreds of gaming highlights: With over 1.000 exhibitors expected, spectacular game presentations are guaranteed. The field of participants at Gamescom is, as usual, international this year - more than 50 countries will be represented. In addition, the Gamescom indie village (Hall 10.2) and the Event Arena (new: 11.3) will celebrate their premiere this year. The new opening show on August 19th will kick off the "full of gaming" week. Gamescom: Opening Night Live with presenter and producer Geoff Keighley.
“The success story of Gamescom is impressive. This is certainly due to the impressive development in the number of exhibitors and visitors as well as the continuous increase in internationality over the past few years. This year, however, the focus is primarily on strategic and conceptual developments - which can be seen and experienced at Gamescom: Strengthening as a platform for new products, the topic of independent developers and further digitization, internationalization and eventization are some of the central ones innovations. We are convinced that with these measures and an improved quality of stay we will once again be able to offer our guests from all over the world a superlative gaming event".
Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse GmbH
Gamescom: Opening Night Live is guaranteed to be a fantastic start to Gamescom week. On Monday, August 19, 2019, at 20:00 PM, host and producer Geoff Keighley will delight around 1.500 attendees with the new live show. Gamescom: Opening Night Live will give gamers worldwide an overview of what to expect during this year's Gamescom week. The brand-new show will feature announcements from major publishers and indie developers, world premieres with new trailers, and guest appearances from stars of the international games industry. Gamescom: Opening Night Live is planned for a separate ticketing system - more information will follow shortly. Those who cannot be there live in Hall 11.3 have the opportunity to watch the show via livestream from 20:00 p.m. CEST, 14:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT.
Game fans can also expect further innovations in the entertainment area (Halls 5 to 10, 11.3 and P8). One of them is the new event arena in Hall 11.3. There is a special event program to experience here, which differs significantly from other Gamescom event areas. In addition, the Gamescom indie village is celebrating its premiere in Hall 10.2: Here visitors will find hundreds of independent developers. In general, Gamescom fans can look forward to more space this year. In addition to enlarging the area to 210.000 square meters, the rectification of visitor hotspots, the widening of the aisles, additional catering and lounge areas as well as the introduction of the new evening ticket, with which one can enter the exhibition grounds for 7 euros from 16 p.m. to 20 p.m. can provide a better Gamescom experience.
Information and all tickets that are still available can be found at www.gamescom.de.
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