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IFA 2023 returned as a full-fledged in-person event, and visitor numbers could even match pre-pandemic standards. The transition from digital and hybrid events over the last three years was quite abrupt. Not even a keynote was live-streamed anymore; the entire program was centered around the fairground, and the IFA app only served for on-site arrangements. IFA 2023 was a restart with physical displays and a setback o

Gamescom 2023, Germany’s annual gaming event, grappled with a series of contradictions on multiple fronts. It spotlighted the disparity between Germany being one of the world’s largest gaming consumer markets and the comparatively modest economic impact of the German game industry. This incongruity took center stage amid a flurry of political debates. The stark contrast between the event’s branding

The annual game developer conference Devcom kicked off this year’s Gamescom with a two-day event featuring conferences, an expo site, and social gatherings for the gaming industry. The hybrid format encompassed live-streamed lectures and provided virtual meeting slots on the event platform The focal point of this year’s edition was the integration and management of AI tools within the daily development pipeline

The 50th edition of the annual SIGGRAPH show took place in Los Angeles. Alongside the usual theme tracks on computer graphics, visual computing, immersion, and media automation, this year’s event commemorated five decades of CGI history. A timeline showcasing the developments in visual computing was set up in a walkable time tunnel installation, which included interactive features related to pattern recognition

Berlin’s annual festival of playful interactive media got a special spot in this year’s event calendar. While other interactive media events did not make it into 2023, like canceled E3 for professionals or sunken Berlin Games Week for the public, A Maze expanded on several platforms for more performance oriented topics. The core event took place at the Silent Green cultural center with the game exhibition

Pandemic aftermath deflation, consumer price inflation, a looming recession and financial insecurities in tech driven business areas also affect the game industry’s actual development perspectives. The general economic outlook for the industry remains slightly diminished compared to the pandemic heydays of the past. But Virtual Reality seems to become one of the few market segments of moderate growth. Circumven

Nvidia‘s virtual conference GTC and the in-person Game Developer Conference in San Francisco ran on separate tracks after two years of crossover presentations on virtual platforms. The technical GTC continued elaborations on digital twins and virtual cooperation mainly in industrial application areas, while GDC celebrated the reestablished opportunity for personal meetups and caught up with the latest trends in

The annual Consumer Electronic Show returned to Las Vegas in 2023 as a full-fledged trade event. Like before the pandemic, the show floors were crowded with people, booths, and gadgets. Some digital leftovers from the virtual interregnum broadcasted daily events from the show, streamed keynotes and panel discussions from the conference, and offered an expo space with digital company profiles and product portfolios. A

Formerly known as VR Days Europe, the annual European XR convention moved from Amsterdam to Rotterdam under the new title of Immersive Tech Week. The program structure did not change too much. You got the same tracks for lectures and panels, trade exposition, art work installations and special events like before, all centered around the latest trends in XR research and applications. The 5 days started with 2 days of