Barcelona Games World to focus on mobile games

Barcelona (CNA).- The Barcelona Games World video game fair, which will be in Barcelona from the 6^th to the 9^th of October, has released more details on the event. First, it will be focusing more on mobile games, to “open (the fair) to other forms of interactive digital entertainment”, according to Josep Antoni Llopart, director of the conference. This is also because of Barcelona’s “bond” with the Mobile World Congress. However, while there is this particularity, the gamer will continue to be “the centre of the experience”, with competitions and prizes of up to €15,000. The event is expected to be quite large: even more attendees than the 90,000 in Madrid are expected to attend, and main companies of the sector such as Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Badland Games and Warner will participate. Additionally, the fair will also serve as a connecting point between businesses, facilitating the market for professionals who work in the field, including ideas for studies and even companies that offer jobs. What’s more, there will be a ‘space for socialisation’ on the fairground, complete with lectures, concerts, music sessions with DJs, fashion shows and competitions.

The Barcelona Games World video game trade show will unveil a professional side that will bring local initiatives and small businesses to big brands and ‘publishers’ to promote their development. “We act as a hub of innovation and encouragement of talent”, stated Josep Antoni Llopart, director of the fair. Contact between small entrepreneurs and big brands is focused on internationally projecting the “talent” of a country-wide videogame industry which is “the leader in entertainment”, explained the president of the Spanish Videogame Association (AEVI), Alberto González. Therefore, and taking advantage of the fact that Barcelona, headquarters of the Mobile World Congress, is taking over from Madrid, the fair will have a special role for games designed for mobile phones. “We can not focus on console (games), we should open it to other forms of interactive digital entertainment. We want a very inclusive fair, in all its manifestations”, stated Llopart. The main video game trade show in Spain will continue to be committed to the ‘gamer’ as “the centre of the experience” and hold competitions and leagues that are broadcast via streaming, with prizes of up to €15,000.

Barcelona Games World will take place from the 6^th to the 9^th of October, at the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre. The main companies of the sector such as Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Badland Games and Warner will participate in the fair, and organisers expect to surpass the 90,000 visitors that attended the Madrid Games Week last week. “We have good expectations”, affirmed Llopart.

Made to facilitate the promotion and development of small companies


More than a trade show, it will be a “fair group”, specified Alberto González, emphasising the many offers of Barcelona Games World, both in the professional field and dedicated to players. Contact between companies is a novelty, when thinking of Madrid Games Week, so much so that on the 6^th of October, a space will be exclusively designated for this purpose. Llopart has detailed that “networking” dynamics will be implemented to facilitate the promotion and development of small entrepreneurial companies.


“We will do activities that help start-ups become known and grow from the beginning”, he explained. The projects will then be analysed by big brands, potential funding initiatives, and must be submitted in advance. Even outside the strictly recreational area, organisers also explained that there will be a space for training, information studies related to what courses can be undertaken related to video games, as well as a platform for promotion of talent in a more academic field. There will also be companies that offer jobs.

“An interest in the public, the player”


As for entertainment aimed at an audience that has no degree of expertise, there will be a wide range of offers. “The fair has an interest in the public, the player, and there will be machines available to play”, assured José Maria Moreno (of AEVI). Thus, he stressed that “the essence” of the “excitement and entertainment” is not lost. The space, measuring about 50,000 m², will feature three ‘Arena’ game points: a league that will be played on the PlayStation console, in EA Sports games and other leagues. This Arena is complemented by the Pro Arena, and a third, Public Arena, more open to the general public, and with different offers.


One of the main attractions will be mobile games, and interactive virtual ‘retro-games’, as well as a room for robotics. This approach to a more “technological” and “digital world” is, according to the organisers, one of the reasons that brought the show to Barcelona, thanks to its “bond” with this industry as well as the Mobile World Congress.

A ‘space for socialisation’ with lectures, concerts, DJs and fashion shows


Another novelty of the event is a ‘space for socialisation’, located on the Plaça Univers of the Fira de Barcelona event space, which aims to break the image of the solo player and allow the gamer to relate to the other visitors. In this part, there will be a big stage, 2,500 m² large, where there will be lectures, concerts, music sessions with DJs, fashion shows and competitions.


Tickets go on sale on Monday, the 27^th of June at a price of €12 online and €15 at the box office. All children under 8 years old will have free admission, and special groups such as pensioners and families will be able to get an entry price of €9 euros.