gamescom sees 254,000 attendees, GDCE claims record figures

Koelnmesse just confirmed a gamescom attendance of 254,000 for 2010, and made an outright claim that the German games show is now the world's largest.

More than 500 exhibitors from 33 countries attended the event, compared to 458 from 31 countries in 2009.

Of the 254,000 visitors, 18,900 were from the trade, and media representation totaled 4,400 media from 49 countries.

After several years of jostling for position for the global attendance crown with TGS, gamescom is now clearly the biggest event of its type in the world.

TGS attendance fell last year to 185,030, down from 194,288 in 2008.

The inaugural gamescom drew in 245,000 last year.

"New momentum for growth"

With exhibitors up 15 percent, organisers were obviously pleased.

"gamescom 2010 surpassed our expectations and provided new momentum for growth. We were especially pleased by the expansion of the international presence: we brought together more international industry representatives in Cologne than ever before, thus anchoring the position of gamescom as the international industry trade fair. We are already looking forward to a successful continuation next year," said Olaf Wolters, head of Germany trade body, the BIU.

Highlights this year included Sony's Resistance 3 reveal.

gamescom 2011 will take place in Cologne from August 17-21 next year.

GDCE has also announced a record attendance "across paid attendees, media, speakers and exhibitors" for its 2010 event, as reported by CMP-owned Gamasutra.

No hard numbers were posted.

The show is to return next year, again opposite GamesCom, on August 15-17, 2011.