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A major perk in running events at Vindicia is having the opportunity to partake in the various conferences and shows we attend.

While a majority of my time is devoted to conversations with gaming companies about the ins and outs of monetization, customer acquisition strategies and improving customer lifetime, occasionally I get the chance to let loose, give in to my inner gamer, enjoy the show and geek out. Shows like GDC, E3 and San Diego Comic-Con are on my regular schedule each year, but there is always something a little special about gamescom. This was my second year attending, and now that the dust has settled, I finally get a chance to look back at all the pictures I took and share my experience from a fan’s perspective.

The booth displays, crowd energy and cosplay village oozed EPIC enjoyment. I am always fascinated with the elaborate displays and exhibit booths at each show. This year’s gamescom certainly did not disappoint. There was everything from LED lit water drops presenting the logos for NAMCO, HITMAN and more, to what we dubbed the “Great Wall” of Wargaming.net. The enormous wall flashed larger-than-life images of various tanks and planes gearing up for battle.

Every inch of floor space was packed with people, bunched together listening to the next big announcement. Rabid fans camped out at various booths, willing to wait up to 7 ½ hours to play a fleeting moment or two of upcoming titles, such as Ubisoft’s Assassins Creed III, CAPCOM’s Resident Evil 6, and a number of other big name releases.

However, gamescom definitely earned a +10 to crowd enjoyment buff by offering roving snack carts that served pretzels and other delectable treats to fans while they waited in the never-ending lines.

From character reveals and new trailer launches, to intimate details about plot lines and updated UIs, the crowd hung on every word.

Blizzard Entertainment’s much-anticipated release of Mists of Pandaria, the new expansion to its World of Warcraft franchise, was also a huge crowd-pleaser, complete with a costume contest.

Traditional console games and MMOs weren’t the only ones with a big presence though. GREE, the world’s largest mobile social game network, featured a large booth area with displays for many of the games in its network, including Moshi Monsters by Vindicia client, Mind Candy.

Despite not being able to translate many of the presentations and trailers into English from German, the level of excitement pouring out of everyone around me was a universal language. All in all, it was an amazing show and I look forward to seeing what gamescon delivers next year.