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The status of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo as North America’s most important game business event has been debated since the beginnings in 1995. But these discussions came to an end this year when the pandemic situation forced the cancellation of E3 for the first time. Some relevant big industry players already shifted their promotion strategies to the internet or they were going for their own event

Since the pandemic outbreak in early 2020, we have seen many cancellations of conventions, trade shows and marketing events. After some improvisations for setting up provisionary online replacements for these cancelled events, we now seem to have entered a ‘new normal’ of online conventions, marketing video streams and promotional webinars. Some of these trends may persist even in a post-pandemic future.

Consumer VR is still driven mostly by the game segment. The first quarter of 2020 has seen some remarkable game releases for PCVR headsets, building up on each other with matured product design to go for a more matured market. The time seems ripe for deepening as well as for broadening the VR gaming niche. In times of ‘Stay home and play safe’ campaigns, with increasing game software sales despite hardwar

I usually report on business conventions for virtual reality developments here. But the first quarter of 2020 has seen a lot of cancelled events due to the Coronavirus shut down all over the globe. Major industry events like GDC, E3, Berlin Gamesweek or even Gamescom had to be cancelled, and we do not know yet for how long this cancellation period will last. After shifting quickly to improvised broadcasted video mess

Europe’s biggest trade show for digital education and training applications dedicated a whole area to VR and AR on the fairground at Karlsruhe. Whereas a great deal of the education offerings focused on learning tools for schools and institutions, the VR/AR area addressed a more industrial and professionally oriented audience. VR Training Sims The main application field of VR in education consists of training o

After having established a common presentation platform for three formerly separated convention formats in 2018, this year’s MediaTechCon edition streamlined the event for more Studio Babelsberg related topics. An Entertainment Track showcased actual developments in digital film production, whereas an Industry Track gave insights on technological backgrounds and marketing trends. VRNow celebrated another annual

Another EGX Berlin edition took place this November, following last year’s premiere show at the Berlin Station. The show once again offered a well animated platform for promoting the gaming culture for newcomers and fans. Tons of playable game release demos, game industry related panels and lectures, merchandise offerings, meeting points, podcasts and streaming services – EGX rolled out a whole range of a

Trending technologies at this year’s European consumer electronic show IFA were AI, 8K and 5G – all a bit fuzzy in terms of definition, marketing lingo and rather scetchy future perspectives. VR was not in the focus, but still served as an innovation booster for brand polishing. Some new players showed up in the XR space, mostly related to sound developments. Immersion now goes for easy listening mode. Ch

Gamescom displayed different states of VR on various levels in separated areas on the fairgrounds. A planned ‘XR Boulevard’ did not materialize. Devcom offered a glimpse into the future, SPOBIS stuck to flat games promotion, Gamescom-Congress got stuck in funding uncertainties. Nevertheless, by putting together all scattered pieces from all trade areas, this year’s Gamescom served as an indicator fo