Brasil Game Show 2010

Over 30,000 people attended the Brasil Game Show in Rio de Janeiro. In 2011 the show is expected to double in size to bring together 70 exhibitors and receive more than 40,000 visitors

The 3rd Brasil Game Show exceeded expectations, hosting 30,000 visitors and selling out the convention center on both days (expectations were for 20,000 attendees overall). Even under the hot sun and high temperature outside, the line of gaming enthusiasts waiting to enter the event on opening day circled the huge SulAmérica convention center. The variety of games and the presence of international exhibitors including Sony, Warner Bros., Blizzard, Konami and others, who brought many new releases, attracted gamers of all styles and ages, experts and enthusiasts.

At the entrance to the event the public had the opportunity to take a walk through the "Time Tunnel", a museum-quality collection of original videogame consoles documenting how far the market has come. The exhibit presented the largest collection of such items in Brazil, preserved by the organizer of the show, Marcelo Tavares. The newest generation of gamers was surprised, asking: "Video games had wires?"

It was in this climate of innovation and education that the younger gamers could see how the initial games worked 40 years ago, but it was also a climate of nostalgia and joy for their elders who often exclaimed: "Wow, I played that Atari."

The Brasil Game Show took place on Saturday, November 20th and ended the next day at eight o'clock to critical acclaim with very positive impact across media outlets.

National and international gaming experts filled the event, including Hector Sanchez, a producer of the bloody Mortal Kombat game, the cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa, who revealed during a press conference at the Group Seven booth new characters in 3D for the Class of Penadinho, Cristian Ribeiro, a member of Boa Compra (online game store), Florian Jumah, producer of the Tibia game (RPG via the Internet), Chris Hinojosa, producer of the game Gran Turismo 5, one of the most anticipated titles for this holiday season, Bertrand Chaverot, Ubisoft's director in Brazil, Andreas Stock, a consultant with experience in companies such as Intel and Activision, Esteban Clua, a professor at the Federal Fluminense University in Rio (UFF), coordinator of Computer Science and a Graduate of Pontifical Catholic University (PUC-Rio), and Anderson Gracias, general manager of PlayStation in Brazil, among others. The convention floor and lecture rooms were filled to overflowing.

The booths of Sony, Blizzard, Warner Bros., NC Games, Konami and Boa Compra were full of games and new releases, as well as the curious and lovers of games. The Sony PlayStation Move attracted thousands of visitors. Blizzard conducted the final round of the 1st latin America StarCraft II Cup, with the right audience and narrators.

Warner Bros. had an exclusive hands-on preview of Mortal Kombat 9 (the game will be released in 2011), allowing visitors to play with one of the producers of the series, the very likeable Hector Sanchez. NC Games launched the new game from Michael Jackson, complete with presentations by a Michael Jackson impersonator on stage at their booth. Group Seven brought the Pump it up! Championship, plus a traditional slot car racetrack with two futuristic loops which gathered thousands of fans.

The largest games distributors will also be at the upcoming Brasil Game Show in October, 2011. Many have already secured booths to bring more games, new championships, fresh news and more to win over the brazilian public.

Brasil Game Jam and Miss Gamer

The Brasil Game Jam sequestered contestants for 40 hours (10 teams from different universities from all over Brazil) in a "Reality Show" style event. The objective was to develop a game whose theme was not known prior to the event. It was reavealed: "Who goes in search of hills does not stop to collect the stones along the road," a phrase from the famous brazilian author Paulo Coelho.

After presenting their final product to a jury of experts, media representatives and the Department of Culture, who then played all the new games for an hour without knowing by whom they were created, the team from the University Anhembi Morumbi of Sao Paulo won the champion with their game "The Minor’s Journey.” Each contestant on the winning team took home a PlayStation 3 and three games. Second place went to the team from Paraná, with the game "Gold Rush," and third place was awarded to the team from Santa Catarina, for their game "Ice Cream Lover." All of these games will be available at the Brasil Game Show website which can be accessed via www.brasilgameshow.com.br.

The Miss Gamer contest was a success. The audience chose the contestant most characterized by the game character Bayonet. The first round of the contest took place on Saturday and finals were on Sunday. Besides beauty and attractiveness, the contestant had to show she understood videogames. The band Mega Driver, the first heavy metal band to play video games music was cheered by fans at the end of the presentation.

Brasil Game Show 2011

The growth of the gaming industry in Brazil is quite notable, and within this scenario it is very favorable to the growth of Brazil Game Show. The Show has established itself as the biggest games show in South America. In 2011 and beyond BGS will likely become the largest of its kind in Latin America. This steady growth is also reflected in the number of days of the fair in 2011, five in total, already scheduled for October 5 ^th, 6 ^th, 7 ^th, 8 ^th and 9 ^th next year. It is expected there will be 40,000 visitors. Another first for 2011 is the Game Music Brasil contest and the already known Video Games Live, both attractions will be present because of a partnership with Conexão Cultural, the company who represents this brands in Brazil.