The consumer electronics and video games markets are huge, not only in the number of buyers and the value of sales, but also in the sheer number of innovations and announcements that happen each year. Sometimes big companies like Google, Samsung and Apple hold their own events where they release new products like phones, streaming devices and software, but they also introduce new products at trade shows and conventions where the rest of the industry will be in attendance. Similarly, video game developers may have their own announcement, like Bethesda did for Fallout 4, while others will wait for a trade show or comic con to announce their new game to a captive audience.
There is a big variety of different trade shows, exhibitions and conferences for consumer electronics and video games that take place every year. Not all of them are open to the general public and not all of them are exclusive to a particular industry or sector. Nevertheless, those events are incredibly popular and important for those developers and manufacturers who just made their first steps in the PC market and their veteran competitors.
Trade shows present a range of valuable opportunities for companies that participate, including meeting potential customers, finding new and better ways of doing business and building a more impressive reputation within an industry. For consumers it’s an exciting time to see what your favorite companies have been working on, and what products to look forward to.
CES – Consumer Electronics Show
The International CES is the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology and the largest annual tradeshow of any kind in America. It has been successful for more than four decades now and reaches across global markets. It gives an opportunity to understand “who’s who” in the industry and enables innovations in consumer electronics to be shared so that they can grow and efficiently develop. It also presents a huge opportunity for developers and manufacturers to show and discuss their products, to recognize their competitors and to help to understand the future of their market in order to stay tuned.
Every year CES draws attendees from all around the world that are ready to share ideas and to do business. A wide variety of new products are announced, starting from consumer products for business and home and finishing with software products and future development of various technologies.
It always takes place in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas In 2016 CES will be open from January 6th to January 9th.
E3 – Electronic Entertainment Expo
E3 is presented by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) and has always been seen as the must-to-attend event, where the video game industry unites to debut, showcase, and experience the future of computer games (including gaming consoles, smartphones and other gadgets).
The main focus of E3 is on the video game industry and this is the place where product launches happen, ground-breaking technologies are debuted, news is made, and the future is revealed. Attendees and visitors are able to experience new products and technologies firsthand, network with industry experts, and discover the latest trends and announcements that will be changing the business of games and gaming hardware for years to come.
E3 is purely an industry event that helps to connect market decision-makers with the attendees who will affect the latter’s bottom line today, and the visionaries who can help guide your success tomorrow. Showcasing all aspects of the video games world, E3 is the chance for developers and manufacturers to define the year ahead.
E3 is usually held in May or June at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, United States. In 2016 E3 will be open from June 14th until June 16th.
GDC – Game Developers Conference
The GDC is the world’s largest and longest-running game industry event that is not open for the general public and is intended for professional developers and manufacturers only. The event usually attracts over 26,000 attendees, and is the primary forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry.
This conference often features over 400 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development topics taught by leading industry experts. In addition, the GDC expo showcases all of the most relevant game development tools, platforms and services helping to move the industry forward. The Game Developers Conference is recognized as the most prestigious event in the world for professional game developers and gaming hardware manufacturers.
If you are planning to show new software or hardware gaming products, make new business contacts in order to expand and improve your activities, or recruit new team members, the GDC Expo Floor will put you face-to-face with the industry’s top talents.
GDC usually takes place several times a year in different countries, amongst which are United States, Canada, Germany and China. The next upcoming event will take place in San Francisco at the Moscone Convention Center and will be open from March 14th until March 18th.
AVADirect participation in trade shows
At AVADirect we are excited to attend CES in January! We will be showcasing the AVA Omni VR Desktop at the Virtuix Omni booth. We are also looking forward to meeting with trade publications and our vendors that enable us to create the best True Custom shopping experience and give our customers the best price.