Games Convention 08: The after-party

The games have been played, the announcements made and Games Convention 08 has closed its doors for another year. But there's still plenty to talk about, so discover what captured the imagination of the show going attendees...

Were you at the Games Convention 08 in Leipzig? A record number of 203,000 visitors were, with Europe's massive annual videogames conference playing host to the industry's biggest, loudest, flashiest and most extravagant titles. Spread across four main halls which contained over 500 exhibitors, such as Sega, Ubisoft, Midway and Electronic Arts, to see it is to believe it.

With its show floor open to the public at 9am, hundreds of eager fans rushed through the main entrance tunnels to get their hands on the latest and yet-to-be unveiled titles. The chance to play some of the industry's major games led to an excitable and friendly atmosphere that persisted throughout.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had one of the biggest stands on display, showing off the eagerly awaited fruits of LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Resistance 2, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and a batch of PSN titles including Fat Princess and Crash Commando on PlayStation 3, while a whole area was decked out with comfy seats and soft lounging perches for those wanting to enjoy something of the more handheld persuasion thanks to PSP's array of games to try out, such as Buzz!: Brain Bender and Super Stardust Portable.

Offering the chance to sing, shout and let it all out, SingStar quite literally gave people a stage to perform their vocal talents, allowing those willing (or just willing to push their unsuspecting friends and family) to croon in front of onlookers, making for a fun-filled atmosphere.

Similarly, Buzz!: Quiz TV on PlayStation 3 was blessed with a massive auditorium to replicate that of a real life TV quiz show, featuring bizarrely named lecterns (Pelvis, anyone?) for eight contestants, colourful backdrops, a massive TV projection, and the blonde bombshell host himself, Buzz, who was more than happy to pose for pictures. Appropriately, there was a more than amiable buzz around this area, topped off by a Buzz! mock camper van, a pinboard with pictures of people getting their Buzz! faces on and plenty of pods for some Brain Bender and Master Quiz fun.

Car lovers were given something to rev their engines to with a number of flamboyant automobiles to stand by and ogle. An Aston Martin DBS captured the style of Activision's promising 007 film tie-in, Quantum of Solace, while Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and even Guitar Hero also displayed their real life automobile charms: the former came with specially designed pods to play the game, giving a new way for fans to revel in the real driving simulator.

One of the games on everyone's lips was LittleBigPlanet, given a rare playtest to the European public - and it didn't disappoint, amassing constant crowds in a wonderfully decorated area that aped the hand drawn, mash-up styling of the game itself that also won an award for Best PS3 game of the Convention, as voted by the exhibitors. With some designers from Media Molecule on hand to demonstrate the Create mode, the 25 pods were full throughout the show. Everyone wanted a piece of Sackboy, so it came to the delight of many that an official release date was announced for the game - pencil 29 October, 2008 into your diaries.

Letting people rock out, Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour had dedicated stages and themed sound proof booths, making giant wigs and shades the order of the day. Less colourful in their presence were a pair of Helghast troops who roamed around with suitable menace, keeping an eye on the heavily queued Over 18s Theatre of SCEE's mammoth stand, which provided a convincing looking home (of chain fences and flaming oil drums) to some of PlayStation's big adult titles. Killzone 2 left a great impression on the minds of those who played it, as did fellow shooters SOCOM: Confrontation and Resistance 2. Not to be left aside by its big PS3 brother, the PSP bound Resistance: Retribution was also present and scooped a Best PSP game of the show gong for its blisteringly impressive third person take on the series.

Keeping the optimistic tone of the Convention, SCEE's conference gathered a positive reception with some announcements that kept PlayStation on the tip of everyone's tongues. PSP-3000 was flaunted, with a brighter screen and built-in microphone, and 80GB and 160GB versions of PlayStation 3 were unveiled for Europe, giving unprecedented storage space for the ever expanding multimedia range hitting the system such as the television recording and playback capabilities of PlayTV, which scooped a Best Hardware award at the event.

Music wasn't neglected either, as new service VidZone was announced for PS3 owners, allowing unlimited free access to thousands of music videos from the world's most popular artists, directly streamed to your system. You can customise your own personal library and playlists and even use Remote Play on PSP to listen on the move.

Another surprise came in the shape of the Wireless Keypad for PS3. This mini keyboard slots into the Wireless Controller for easy text input in features such as the system's Internet Browser or the revolutionary interactive community, Home.

It was of no surprise a lavish amount of attention was garnered to the emotionally charged Heavy Rain featured in the conference and also behind closed doors for the media, leaving many impressed by its depth and potential, even at such an early stage. Given that SCEE President, David Reeves, has touted the action adventure as "the great game for PlayStation 3 in 2009", Heavy Rain will be one title that will be keenly anticipated come next year's Games Convention.