EA confirms attendance at Gamescom 2012; convention's organizers reassure industry

Electronic Arts will be at Gamescom 2012 in full force, and the convention's organizers are confident of its success despite the absence of some major industry players.

Electronic Arts plans to show off its upcoming slate of top titles at Gamescom this August in Cologne, Germany, the publisher confirmed today, as the convention's organizers reassured the industry amid the loss of major exhibitors.

The publisher looks to exhibit games like SimCity, FIFA 13, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and Crysis 3 with "new content and services." Jens Uwe Intat, EA's senior vice president of European publishing, called the convention "a pillar for our industry," saying that EA is "looking forward to being there in force." Gamescom takes place from August 15-19th, and EA will hold its press conference at 4 p.m. on August 14th.

Companies such as Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sega have announced that they will be skipping the show, but Koelnmesse and BIU, the organizers behind Gamescom, told MCV that they will soldier on despite a somewhat reduced games industry presence. Instead, the show is more diversified this year, with electronics giant Samsung listed among 60 new exhibitors — a 20 percent increase — bringing their wares to Cologne.

"Despite the difficult market situation," said Koelnmesse, referring to a lull in the industry before the announcement of next-generation consoles, Gamescom is "on track, demonstrating stability and growth." Last year's convention saw record attendance of 275,000, and at one point, the organizers had to temporarily prohibit entrance after the convention center reached capacity. Be careful out there, folks.