If I'm being honest, after attending EGR Live in London last Wednesday, I felt a little deflated. When the two-day event first opened its doors 18 months ago it was welcomed with open arms, something that is unheard of in the online gaming industry these days. With an abundance of new events now
If I’m being honest, after attending EGR Live in London last Wednesday, I felt a little deflated.
When the two-day event first opened its doors 18 months ago it was welcomed with open arms, something that is unheard of in the online gaming industry these days. With an abundance of new events now popping up all over the place, it has become clear that there are simply too many conferences/seminars/exhibitions/trade shows - call them what you like, there’s too many! We don’t attend all the events (because that would be near impossible), but we do go to enough to know that there is an increasing sense of deja vu - same faces, same content, different venue.
EGR Live, however, was different. Firstly, it’s free to attend (everyone loves a freebie). Secondly, you don’t feel as if the exhibitors are flexing their muscles in a bid to compete for who’s got the biggest stand. Finally, the footfall was enough to create a real buzz.
This year however, the only buzz was the poor acoustics coming from the seminars - just one of the many drawbacks of having a seminar area located at the front of the exhibition hall. This probably had something to do with the venue, which this time round was The Business Design Centre in Islington, London. Formerly the Royal Agricultural Hall, unless this venue is packed to the rafters, the bright, airy space is only going to enhance the fact that the footfall could be higher.
Walking around and chatting to exhibitors, the main conclusion for the low visitor numbers was the timing of the event. Going back to work after a second consecutive four-day weekend is difficult enough, but attending a show on the first two days after ‘wedding fever weekend’, well it clearly wasn’t a popular choice.
It makes sense that the organisers didn’t want the event to clash with the other conferences/seminars/exhibitions/trade shows that are fast approaching and of which there are many, but it appears that wedding fever had hit not only the Royalists among us, but also the online gaming industry. With the absence of an extended May Day Bank Holiday next year, I’m guessing (and hoping) that EGR Live will be back to its old self in 2012.
