London Games Festival 2010 Starts Today

By Londonist Last edited 161 months ago
London Games Festival 2010 Starts Today

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Cosplay record breaking at MCM Expo 2008 by internets_dairy
The geek will inherit the Earth, or at least London, this month. Having grown steadily over the years London Games Festival 2010 is the biggest videogame culture event to take place in the capital in, well... ever. Throughout October the festival celebrates the best in electronic entertainment, allowing you to go and play with some of the cutting edge titles about to go to market and learn a thing or two about the future of gaming.

It kicks off today, with the Eurogamer Expo at Earl's Court and a chance to get hands on experience with some of the biggest games being released this Christmas and beyond. There are a fair few UK “Premieres” of blockbuster titles including Fable III, Gears of War III, Rock Band 3 and some other titles that aren't third instalments such as Brink, the incredible looking Vanquish and the remake of the legendary Goldeneye. Microsoft and Sony will be hawking their respective Kinect and Move wares - the motion controlled devices that will be causing chaos in living rooms across the world come Christmas morning. For fans of gigantic glasses, a selection of titles will be playable using new 3D technology.

Other highlights include:

  • The industry trade fair, sponsored by gamesindustry.biz returns with some big name companies (Sega, EA) giving out careers advice on site and industry figureheads making keynote speeches across the weekend. British gaming master Peter Molyneux and Sonic The Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka are heading the lineup on Friday and Saturday. The event is open from 11am till 7pm each day.
  • Leicester Square will be flooded with kids tomorrow for a Cartoon Network event to promote the launch of the new Ben 10 title, Cosmic Destruction.
  • The Sony Game Runner event on 8th October is “an experimental project where PlayStation, members of the public and young people from diverse backgrounds come together to create social games.” So, if you fancy something more physical than a thumb workout, this is the place to be.
  • Whittaker House hosts the BoardGameCamp event on the 9th for those who still remember traditional boardgames. As well as opportunities to play a plethora of tabletop games there's a bunch of "unconferences", as well as a day-long design competition where you can put that incredible idea you had for the next snakes and ladders to paper.
  • The final weekend in October sees the MCM Expo return to the Excel centre “bigger and better” than ever before. A gigantic celebration of all things related to geek culture, from TV to Japanese anime. There will be plenty of celebrity guests if you decide it's time to get that CSI boxset signed. It will also play host to the Euro Cosplay Championships, so expect to see some of the most incredible/ridiculous fancy dress costumes you will ever see being paraded about the halls.
  • If you are a gamer, this is an opportunity to get hands on experience with some of the biggest titles of next year, listen to the wisdom of some of the world's leading designers and take part in some alternative gaming practices. If you aren't a gamer, London Games Festival provides plenty of unique ways to be entertained over the next 30 days, even if that is just running around the Excel centre dressed as Batman.

    By Andi Hamilton

    Last Updated 01 October 2010