London Games Festival 2008 preview

Forget E3! You don't have to travel further than the South Bank for LGF...

While videogaming's hardcore celebrate the return of the 'proper' E3 (scheduled to run in early June 2009 at the cavernous L.A. Convention Center) London gets its own festival of gaming this coming week.

And while E3 is strictly 'trade only', the London Games Festival is for every Tom, Dick and Harry who can make it. Yes, we are looking at YOU, because you don't need a golden press pass to get in on the fun over the next week. LGF kicks off with the annual Video Games Live gig down on the South Bank and ends with a bang at EA's Be The One mini-festival kicking off in Trafalgar Square next Friday.

Aside from being a worthy celebration of the role of Britain's best games designers, the festival is a great excuse to hobnob over beers with execs, developers and games hacks at one of the many events throughout the week. Or to gawp at Gemma Atkinson's 'features', which will be clearly on show on the massive BattleDome stage next Friday as EA shows off her performance in its new Command and Conquer game.

"Our long term aim [for LGF] is to take it beyond the borders and make it one of the key highlights across all of Europe," EA boss (and LGF chairman) Keith Ramsdale told MCV.

"Games today are as mainstream as television, anyone that loves gaming or who wants to give gaming a try should attend."

Want a job? Then head to the Eurogamer Expo and the GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair to chat up the money men. Fancy geeking out at a massive manga and comics fest? Then head over to the MCM Expo at Excel.

And if you want some slightly left-field, experimental beard-stroking, then scour the London Games Fringe to find out more about what is going on at the 'interface' of games, art and literature.

"The London Games Festival, at this moment in the development of the industry, represents a golden opportunity on several levels," according to trade site gamesindustry.biz.

"Culturally, the business has a chance to establish itself as one of Britain's leading creative industries, and as a cutting-edge medium rather than a maligned range of overgrown kids' toys."

T3 couldn't agree more. Even daft Mayoral fop Boris Johnson seems to be changing his opinion on the effect of videogames on "kul-cha" claiming that he is now "delighted that that the London Games Festival is back in our city for its third year.

"It demonstrates the creativity and range of the gaming industry, which, as an important part of London's creative sector, makes a vital contribution to the economy as a whole. With events across the capital, the festival has something for everyone and illustrates the popularity of this thriving form of entertainment."

And while we don't imagine for one second Bozza himself actually said any of that, and that he won't be rushing out to buy LittleBigPlanet next week (read his Telegraph rant from 2007 to get his 'real' views on gaming here), T3 plans to be propping up the bar at as many of the following gaming shindigs over the next week as we can.

E3. Who needs it, eh?

Link: London Games Festival