QuakeCon 2006, X06, GCDC, And More Game Gatherings

Plenty of announcements this week regarding several game gatherings, starting with the NOT-cancelled QuakeCon 2006 (which now has a date and place!), and continuing with Microsoft's X06, this year's GCDC in Leipzig, the Nordic Game 2006, the Korean Game Conference 2006, and the 2007 Independent Games Festival. Dates, locations, speakers, websites... phew, we'll try to keep it as short as possible!

First off, it's QuakeCon 2006. The kick-ass event's official website brings word that QuakeCon 2006 will take place between August 3–6 in Dallas, Texas at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in their Trinity Exhibition Center, and confirms that Quake Wars will be playable at the event.

"With about 1,800 BYOC [bring your own computer] spots, QuakeCon 2006 will be a bit more exclusive than it has been the last couple of years, but we hope people will enjoy the more personal touch this year. QuakeCon 2006 will of course include all the great activities that it's known for, including high-stakes tournaments, workshops, exhibitors, the BYOC Area, parties, and the public's first chance to play Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

First-come, first-served online registration for the BYOC area will kick off at 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 28th, 2006, at www.quakecon.org."

Next, it's Microsoft's X06 event - "the Xbox brand experience for the games and entertainment industry". X06 will be hosted in Barcelona, on 27th and 28th September 2006. While last year's X05 in Amsterdam brought quite a few "first-next-gen" announcements, this year will hopefully reveal some games that harness even more of the Xbox 360's power.

"At X06 Microsoft will unveil more plans for the Xbox 360, showcase the breadth of the next-generation line-up of games, the next wave of accessories and new world-class Xbox Live entertainment experiences along with the latest Games For Windows announcements.

For the first time Microsoft will also welcome South Africa, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland to the event having recently announced the launch of the Xbox 360 in these countries by the end of 2006."

Another one of Europe's traditional (and reportedly leading) developer gatherings is, of course, the Games Convention from Leipzig, Germany (website). Between August 21-23, 2006, the GC Developer Conference (GCDC) promises to be "bigger and more international" than ever, with top speakers such as Bob Bates, chairman of the IGDA, and others as listed below:

"Apart from Bates, others at the conference will include David Freeman (CEO of the Freeman Group), Don L. Daglow (President at Stormfront Studios Inc.), David Smith (Managing Director of Interactive Selection), Christopher Schmitz (Executive Producer of CDV Software), Sean Kauppinen (Director of Kohnke Communications), Graham Hopper (Senior Vice President Buena Games Worldwide) as well as Sven Liebich (Art Director at Phenomic Game Developer) and Jeff Hilbert (President at Digital Development Management)."

In other game-fest news, organizers of the Nordic Game 2006 (website) have confirmed that the third annual event will take place in Malmö, Sweden on September 19th and 20th this year, with an expected 600 participants attending.

"The 2006 event will be the largest of its kind in the Nordic region, with 70 seminars and workshops scheduled, capitalizing on recent Nordic-developed game titles such as Swedish developer DICE's Battlefield series and the Hitman franchise from Danish company Io Interactive. Four simultaneous programs will consider key topics within games research, development, technology, trade, art and public interest."

Over on the other side of the globe, the Korean Games Conference 2006 (website) will be held from November 9th to 10th in 2006, under the catch phrase of "Toward Online 2.0", taking the "Online Leadership" of Korea.

"KGC, which has been grown as an world-class games conference attracting more than 3,000 domestic and foreign industry professionals in last year, has been providing a meaningful space for discussing on the future of the game industry and sharing new viewpoints and ideas, together with more than 80 world-widely well-known game developers, including Bill Roper" of Flagship Studios (Hellgate: London), formerly of Blizzard.

Last and, for now, least, is the launch of the official 2007 Independent Games Festival website, with all-new info on CMP Game Group's 9th Annual Festival. Check it out for details on submitting indie games and MODs, as there are several awards and cash prizes to be won.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)