Big industrial names gather in Germany to unveil new titles


COLOGNE, Germany ― Gamescom 2012, one of the world’s biggest gaming conventions, kicked off on Thursday with a flood of new titles from firms like Nexon, NCsoft, Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom and Konami.

Although big names such as Nintendo and Microsoft did not take part in this year’s event, the fourth annual event of its kind showcases 600 exhibitors from 40 countries until Aug. 19.

“As a unique event worldwide, gamescom covers all areas of the international games industry: family entertainment, casual gaming and intensive gaming from current highlights in console and PC gaming through to online and browser games as well as multi-platform and mobile gaming,” said Katharina Hamma, managing director of gamescom organizer Koelnmesse.

For this year, Korea has been selected as gamescom’s partner country with the Korea Creative Content Agency taking charge of the move.

“It adds meaning that Korea has been chosen as a partner nation for it shows the country’s ground in the global gaming industry,” said KOCCA’s chief Hong Sang-pyo. “We have also established a Korean pavilion formed of about 20 small and mid-sized firms at this game tradeshow.”

At gamescom 2012, Nexon Europe presented its two new titles “Shadow Company” and “Navy Field 2,” while its sister company NCsoft announced it will roll out its new blockbuster “Guild Wars 2” on Aug. 28.

Blizzard Entertainment unveiled the world premiere of its “World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria” cinematic on Thursday, along with its latest multiplayer game “StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm,” its officials said.

Bethesda Softworks also showed off two of their top-notch titles named “Doom 3 BFG Edition” ― a remastered version of the third part of their legendary shooter series ― and stealth and action adventure game “Dishonored.”

Japan-based Capcom and Konami featured new titles to European consumers with Capcom hosting its largest stand at the German game tradeshow.

Capcom unveiled titles like “Resident Evil 6,” “DmC ― Devil May Cry” and “Lost Planet 3” and Konami featured a long list of new editions which included “Pro Evolution Soccer,” “Metal Gear Rising:Revengence” and “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.”

On the sidelines of the event, LG Electronics also made available a gamescom trailer cinema, which enabled visitors to watch trailers of various publishers’ games. The firm also presented its 3-D televisions as well as about 70 In-Plane Switching monitors that they believe are customized for entertainment purposes like gaming.

“The move was made to give a hands-on experience to gamers to let them know that our IPS monitors are the perfect fit for gamers,” said Song Ki-ju, president of LG Electronics’ German headquarters.

LG’s rival Samsung Electronics also took part in the event by setting up its own booth filled with its electronics goods.

According to research released by GamesMarkt, in collaboration with Media Control GfK, the No. 1 most-valued game in the European market was Activision Blizzard’s “Diablo 3” in January-June 2012.

Other games like Electronic Arts’ “FIFA 2012,” Blizzard’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” Bethesda Softworks’ “The Elder Scrolls V ― Skyrim” and “Max Payne 3” of Take-Two Interactive were also listed in the top 20, it said.

“The industry is undergoing a radical change, the transformation process is in full swing and a new console generation is long overdue,” the report said.

By Cho Ji-hyun, Korea Herald correspondent
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)