There were tons of people running to get into Games Convention in Leipzig, no literally, tons of em'. Right as they opened the doors hoards of people stampeded through the halls hoping to be the first to get hands on time with the exhibits. James Bonti, Associate Producer for Activision Blizzard took this video footage and was nearly trampled himself. You can also see Crash Bandicoot leading the pack. For your courage, we salute you!

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With another successful Games Convention under its belt, the folks from the Leipziger Messe, where the con throws down each year, have dated next year's show. Games Convention 2009 returns to Leipzig from August 19 to 23. Wolfgang Marzin, CEO at the Leipziger Messe GmbH, has said that "The industry and visitors are giving us their clear support to continue with the fair in Leipzig", dropping positive support data for the show to stay right where it is.

According to a new release from the Games Convention hosts, the vast majority of those surveyed at the show think the show should stay in Leipzig. A competing show, known as Games Con, is planned to hit Cologne (Köln) around the same time, making for a very confusing split.

Regardless of who's doing what and where, we'll be there... somewhere next Summer covering the sausage beat (and maybe playing a game or two).

Final report: Games Industry Staying in Leipzig for 2009 [Leipziger Messe]

What would a games show be without awards? We wouldn't know. Haven't really seen one without awards. Don't think the back-of-the-box art bullet point teams would stand for a show without them. So without further ado, here are the Best In Show winners from the Leipzig GC last week! Sure, none of them are new games, but they're still the best games the show had, so give them all a round of applause.

Best PC Game: Spore

Best 360 Game: Mirror's Edge

Best PSP Game: Resistance: Retribution

Best PS3 Game: LittleBigPlanet

Best Wii Game: Skate It

Best DS Game: Sonic Chronicles (or, its more awesome German name, SONIC CHRONICLES: Die Dunkle Bruderschaft)

Best Mobile Game: Pro Evo 2009

Best Online Game: Warhammer Online

Best Hardware: PlayTV

Best PS2 Game: "As there were too few entrants, no award was made in this category".

While the food was certainly better than E3's, there's one other thing about Leipzig that trumps LA's resident trade show: it's open to the public. And the public, they come in droves. Indeed, this year's Games Convention set a new record for attendance, 203,000 people passing through the Leipziger Messe's doors over the course of the show. That's a lot of people. More than TGS, even.

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Actually, there may have been several unofficial records set at the Games Convention - most teutonic booth babes, most embarrassing erection at a major trade show, etc.

The actual Guinness Book Of Records people were on hand, though, to promote the Guinness World Records videogame and to oversee record attempts at three of the included minigames.

Its a bit of an odd duck, the GWR game - yes, you can technically break the world record in one or more of the mini challenges (and have these uploaded to the Guinness site), but it is no more or less (actually, it probably is a bit less) impressive than getting the best possible score in any other, actually popular, game.

So, tiny golf clap applause please for Max Schoenemann (virtual Sheep shearing - 5 sheep in just 13.71 seconds!),
Florian Mack (Smashing melons with head - 60 in a minute) and Christian Kurka (100 balloons popped in 10.48 seconds).

Well done you.

The Leipzig Games Convention is a show slathered in spectacle, with big booths, booming sound systems, and lovely female companions to distract from each game's graphical shortcomings. What you might think it would be lacking in are interpretive dance routines. You'd be wrong, as the Germans have come through in a major way, capturing the essence of the show in a four minute dance number that will inspire you to... possibly never come to Germany. Writhing and high kicking to the sounds of Video Games Live! and choreographed by Irina Pauls, this bedazzled, spandex-packed celebration is one reason we love coming here.

Quantic Worlds has confirmed that there will be a demo of the PS3-exclusive noir-thriller Heavy Rain as well as holding out the tantalising prospect of some downloadable expansions.

Quantic plan to keep the plot under wraps for as long as possible, so the demo is likely to be more about demoing the game engine with content unrelated to the main game and showing off both the subtle 'emotional' controls and fine character animations.

Intriguingly, for such a plot-heavy game, Quantic's David Cage suggested that some DLC might be in the offing. This sounds a bit like slapping an extra plotline onto a film, so you have to hope it is handled with care and doesn't feel bolted-on.

"This is something it's really too early to talk about, but it's definitely a possibility", Cage told Eurogamer, "You can tell any story with this interface, because it's entirely contextual".

Demo and DLC for Heavy Rain News [Eurogamer]

Peter Moore announced that EA Sports would be adding tennis to its line-up of games in 2009, with rights for the Wimbledon tennis tournament exclusively going to EA. Although Moore didn't provide a name for the EA created tennis game — unless it's simply EA Sports Tennis — he did say that development on the EA Sports addition would be leading on the Wii, with the game supporting the Wii MotionPlus peripheral.

EA Reps also namedropped professionals like Chris Everett, Pete Sampras and Boris Becker, hinting but not confirming that Grand Slammers throughout the years would be featured.

The PC gaming industry pulled in $US 10.7 billion in 2007, with only 30 percent of that coming from retail sales, the president of the PC Gaming Alliance said today.

Speaking at the Games Convention Developer's Conference in Leipzig, Rand Stude said that online PC gaming was the top revenue earner in 2007 for PCs, pulling in $US 4.8 billion, nearly double the worldwide retail sales for PC games. Digital distribution sales approached $US 2 billion, while advertising revenues from websites, portals, and in-game ads accounted for $US 800 million.

"Our analysis clearly shows incredible growth in online PC gaming, proof that this industry is far stronger than anyone has reported," said Stude. "Today's consumers shop where they live - online."

These numbers, I think, will be much more meaningful next year when we have something to compare them to. Hit the jump for the full release.

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E3 may have been a bit of a bust, but that doesn't mean that the Leipzig Games Convention will be any less of a party. Why? Because they sell beer there. Oh, and there's public nudity. The consumer showing of Europe's finest forthcoming video games hits the Leipziger Messe from August 20 to August 24 and Kotaku will be there.

While Nintendo is sitting out this year's Games Convention, dozens of other publishers and the console manufacturers they pay royalties to will be. Last year's Sony Computer Entertainment Europe press conference saw a few bombs drop and we expect nothing less this year. Microsoft will represent, but won't do a public dog and pony show.

Keep your eyes peeled for a blitzkrieg of updates from the show floor. We're archiving everything right here, for easy reference. All updates follow.

Pre-Show Updates
No PS3 Price Cut At Leipzig
No Leipzig Press Conference From Microsoft
Nintendo Not Attending Leipzig This Year
Games Convention 08 Is Press Conference Central
Blizzard Unveiling Lich King cinematic, Details at Leipzig
Age Of Conan Invades GC
Sega's GC Line Up - Sonic, Samba, And Surprises
Headstrong's Secret Sega Title To Get Leipzig Outing
1C's Games Convention Line-Up Featuring Playable Theatre of War 2
Dragon Age Visits Gen Con Indy, GC, PAX
Paradox Interactive At GC - Project Mayhem?
Video Games Live Brings Crysis Music Home
Why Gears of War 2 Won't Be At Leipzig
Deep Silver At Games Convention 2008
What's EA Bringing To Games Convention?
Early Images From Games Convention 2008