Video Game Conventions

We just left behind Quakecon last week and now Gamecon is approaching. But, what we really now about these conventions?

Video Game Conventions are necessary for both the developers/publishers and game players. Video Game Conventions are the biggest events for the video game industry. For the developers/publisher, they have a chance to market their products to millions of people at once. In addition, these conventions give them an opportunity to create or make a stronger relationship with their audience. For players, they have a chance to see the upcoming games and attend seminars or announcement presentations. These marketing methods are creating a chance to get closer with the developers of their favorite games and get more inside video game industry. Also, they can see many beautiful women (most of the game players are male).

As I said these events are big for the video game industry. So, all the press related to video game industry will be there and anyone who cannot attend these events can follow it from live video of online game magazines such as Gamespot and IGN. One of the reason of this attention is the fact that you can hear new announcements for a new game (much likely a sequel game of the best seller games.) or new detail for the upcoming games. Moreover, you can find new console tools and new addition and technology for the consoles such as PS3, Wii and XBOX 360.

Most of the biggest convention establish in North America. Especially in Los Angeles, California. The reason behind that is most of the renown game developer or publisher company located in California and North America is the biggest market for the video game industry. However, Tokyo Game Show in Japan and GamesCom in Germany is one of the biggest events in video games industry too.

Here are the biggest video game conventions for the video game industry:

1. E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo): Is one of the biggest events in video game industry which, is presented by Entertainment Software Association. E3 is renown for their big announcement. Nearly every big game announce in E3 first or release any useful information. You can find nearly every big name in E3 however, you can only attend E3 if you are from video game industry. So, this event is a big marketing campaign which developers/publishers and console companies can meet with press.

2. Tokyo Game Show: Presented by Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA). Tokyo Game Show is the mother of these events which, is located in Chiba, Japan. Unlike E3, it is open for public and nearly attract 200,000 or more people. This event is a heaven for JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Video Game) fans because nearly every JRPG game announced or give more detail and important information in this event. Even though Japanese companies are more dominant in this event, you can find plenty of Western video game companies.

3. GamesCom: A game convention which, is located in Cologne, Germany. Even though it is one of the youngest conventions in the video game industry, this convention is the biggest in video game industry with 254,000 visitors, more than 4,400 journalists and 505 exhibitors from 33 countries. This convention is the festival for video game industry which, you can find live music and sport arenas. Every biggest video game developer and publisher is there to market their games to directly to their customers.

There are many game conventions that I didn't mention in here but, they are big and important enough to rival these three. Blizzcon, Quakecon, Californa Extreme, Gamecon (Games Convention) and Penny Arcade Expo. These are all important events which, open an opportunity for both gamers and developers to meet each other for mutual benefits.

Screenshots:
1. http://a31.idata.over-blog.com/441x397/0/01/53/72/hot/e3-2006-girl-2.jpg
2. http://img.vidaextra.com/e3girls2.jpg
3. http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/117/1175207/e3-2011-the-top-20-booths-of-2011-20110610013052952.jpg
4. http://www.ripten.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/e32011-600x381.jpg
5. http://cdn2.mixrmedia.com/wp-uploads/wirebot/blog/2011/07/tokyo-game-show1.jpg
6. http://sillegamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gamescom_09_Besucher.jpg
7. http://www.dvhardware.net/news/2011/gamescom_boothbabes_2011_pcgh.jpg

Being a Sequel Video Game

Nowadays, a lot of sequel game released this year and many upcoming franchises like Mass Effect and Elder Scroll will be released at the end of this year or the beginning of 2012.

No matter what genre is, sequel games are the dominant video games in the industry right now. There are a lot of reasons that developers choose to create sequel games rather than a new game. Developing a sequel game is less risky than the creating a new one. Because, sequel games have loyal fans already and there may be enough demand for the sequel game. For instance, many players demanded a sequel game for "Batman: Arkham Asylum". Thus, "Batman: Arkham City" is going to be release at fall.

However, developing a sequel game won't guarantee that this game will be as successful as the previous one. Moreover, it can be much worse than the previous game. Many old school players can remember that many successful video game franchises had many worse sequel games for their franchise. Tomb Raider series after the first game and Fallout: Tactics can be the best example.

A sequel video game should have advanced graphics, gameplay and interface than the previous game. Also, it should have many new features too. However, the important part of creating a sequel game is keeping the successful features of the previous game. That is the difficult part because many developers have to decide which features were successful and which weren't by measuring the feedback of both critics and fans.

There were a lot of franchises that managed to balanced existing features of the previous game with the new ones. Blizzard Entertainment is one of the best when it comes to sequel games. Their franchises like Diablo, StarCraft and WarCraft had been always successful with their sequels. Right now, their upcoming sequel "Diablo 3" is one of the most anticipated video games for 2011.

Actually, many most anticipated games for both 2011 and 2012 are sequel games. "Mass Effect 3", "Elder Scroll V: Skyrim", "Diablo 3" and "Batman Arkham Asylum" are the big guys of the list. We are going to see how many of the sequel video games managed to beat their predecessors.

Screenshots:
1. http://www.comicbooked.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Arkham-City-game-informer-cover.png
2. http://www.pollpub.com/images/member_photos/PollPubPolls634082814915682500%20_%20tombraider1jpg.jpg
3. http://i.geeksailor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/diablo-3.jpg