Last week, more than 34,000 trade visitors roamed the gamescom business halls to explore the exhibitors. Among them was the NL Pavilion, organised by the Dutch Games Association. It served as the gamescom home for 21 Dutch companies: a dynamic mix of seasoned developers, rising stars, and leading service providers.
Not only were the overall gamescom numbers up, but several visitors also commented that the business halls felt more crowded than last year. We also heard various people mentioning that last year’s gloom is slowly giving way to a more positive outlook on the future of our industry.
At the NL Pavilion, there was a constant flow of people. Some had scheduled meetings with our participants, while others simply wanted to learn more about the Dutch games industry. On Wednesday, we also welcomed a Dutch delegation of government representatives. Our partners from the Videogames Federatie Nederland kindly showed them around gamescom and arranged priority access to some of the most exciting titles on the show floor, from AAA to indie.
Stroopwafels and schnapps
Fresh stroopwafels have become a much-loved tradition, but this year we introduced new Dutch products to gamescom attendees. Instead of serving beer during Dutch Drinks on Thursday, we opted for two Happy Hours, on Wednesday and Thursday, where we served Dutch schnapps in branded shot glasses that people could take home with them. We are not sure whether it was the collectible glasses or the Oranjebitter and Nozem that attracted people, but we do know they came in droves.
The glasses were such a hit that people actually came back on Friday to complete their collection, even if it meant rinsing out a used glass themselves. A big thanks to our main sponsor, Engine Software, as well as B'GAME, Game-Drive.nl, and Gamious for supporting this new idea. And of course, congratulations to Square Glade Games, whose game Outbound won the Indie Arena Booth Unity Award while also being part of the NL Pavilion.
