GAMEFest vs Eurogamer Expo

Forget Battlefield and CoD – the first real video game battle of the year takes place over the next week between GAME and Eurogamer. MCV has all the essential info.

There’s no denying it’s going to be a very busy ten-day period for the industry, but arguably one that provides publishers with a vital opportunity. A chance to get their big products in front of buyers in time for the Q4 games rush.

Editorial games website Eurogamer has been running its event for four years now, but with retailer GAME earlier this year announcing its first consumer show would run one week ahead of Eurogamer’s, it caused a few ripples.

GAME initially exclaimed about how much it likes being first, while Eurogamer quipped it was disappointed with the timing of the retailer’s event.

Publishers were given the challenging decision of choosing to attend just one or both events, with firms like Activision opting for just one. In its case, Modern Warfare 3 making its UK consumer debut at GAMEFest.

But any drama surrounding the two shows has now died down, with many publishers promoting games at both events. Scuffles have been forgotten – replaced with a growing excitement. Consumers are about to get their hands on the biggest games of the year, heavily influencing their buying decisions for the months ahead, and publishers want to be there.

What kind of impact Eurogamer Expo and GAMEFest will have on the industry in years to come remains to be seen.

For now, we’ve got all the essential information about each event listed below:

GAMEFest

Dates: Friday, September 16th to Sunday, September 18th
Opening times: 10am to 6pm
Location: Birmingham NEC
Ticket price: 10 for adults, 5 for children

List of publishers exhibiting and games on show:

Microsoft

•Gears of War 3
•The Gunstringer
•Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
•Forza 4
•Dance Central 2
•Kinect Sports: Season Two

Sony

•Resistance 3
•Uncharted 3

Activision

•Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
•GoldenEye Reloaded 007
•Spider-Man: Edge of Time
•Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure
•X-Men Destiny
•Generator Rex
•Prototype 2

EA

•Battlefield 3
•Need for Speed: The Run
•FIFA 12
•Mass Effect 3
•Star Wars: The Old Republic

THQ

•Saints Row: The Third
•WWE 12
•uDraw

Disney

•Disney Universe

Namco Bandai

•Dark Souls
•Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
•Ben 10 Galactic Racing
•Ridge Racer Unbounded
•Inversion

Ubisoft

•Rayman Origins
•Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
•Just Dance 3
•WRC World Rally Championship 2011 (WRC 2)
•Motionsports Adrenaline
•Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012
•The Adventures of TinTin
•Driver San Francisco
•Assassin’s Creed Revelations

Sega

•Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
•Sonic Generations
•Rise of Nightmares
•The House of the Dead Overkill Extended Cut

Capcom

•Street Fighter X Tekken
•Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City
•Dead Rising 2 Off the Record
•Dragon’s Dogma
•Asura’s Wrath

Konami

•PES 2012
•El Shaddai
•Silent Hill Downpour
•Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Nintendo

•The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
•Kid Icarus Uprising
•Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D
•Mario Kart 7

Warner Bros

•Batman: Arkham City
•Harry Potter Years 5-7
•Happy Feet Two
•Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Bethesda

•Rage
•Prey 2
•The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Codemasters

•F1 2011

Visit the GAMEFest website for more information.

Eurogamer Expo

Dates: Thursday, September 22nd to Sunday, September 25th
Opening times: 10am to 7pm
Location: Earls Court, London
Ticket price: 10 for full-day admission (11am to 7pm), 7.50 for afternoon admission (2pm to 7pm)

List of publishers exhibiting and games on show:

Namco Bandai

•Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (arcade)
•Soul Calibur V
•Ridge Racer Unbounded
•Dark Souls
•Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Sega

•The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut
•Sonic Generations
•Rise of Nightmares
•Renegade Ops
•Binary Domain
•Anarchy Reigns

Ubisoft

•World Rally Championship 2011 (WRC 2)
•Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
•Rayman Origins
•Just Dance 3
•Driver: San Francisco
•Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Ronimo Games

•Awesomenauts

Warner Bros

•Batman: Arkham City

EA

•Battlefield 3
•SSX
•Star Wars: The Old Republic
•Need for Speed: The Run
•Mass Effect 3
•FIFA 12

Microsoft

•Gears of War 3
•The Gunstringer
•Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
•Forza 4
•Dance Central 2

Valve

•Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Square Enix

•Final Fantasy XIII-2

NCsoft

•Guild Wars 2

Sony

•Uncharted 3
•Tekken Hybrid
•Starhawk
•Resistance 3
•Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One
•PS Vita
•Journey

Nintendo

•Super Mario 3D Land
•Resident Evil: Revelations
•Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D
•Mario Kart 7
•Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
•Kid Icarus: Uprising

Tecmo Koei

•Ninja Gaiden 3

Konami

•Silent Hill: Downpour

OnLive

Bethesda

•Rage
•The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Capcom

•Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
•Street Fighter X Tekken

THQ

•WWE 12
•Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine
•UFC Undisputed 3
•Saints Row: The Third

Wargaming.net

•World of Tanks

There is also developer sessions, an indie games arcade, social fan meets, cosplay sessions and more at the Expo. Visit the Eurogamer Expo website for more information.