LONDON--For years, the UK's premier game trade show was ECTS. Put on by Game Developers Conference organizers CMP Media, it was held concurrently with GDC Europe. The result was a synergistic event that had the commercial cachet of E3 seasoned with GDC's top development talent. Held at Earls Court in West London, the 2003 ECTS attracted over 10,500 attendees and 130 marquee exhibitors, including Atari, Electronic Arts, Eidos, Konami, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, and VU Games.

All that changed last October, when the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), the British equivalent of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), decided it was going to stage its own event during the same week as ECTS. Dubbed the European Games Network (EGN), the new trade show was billed as a more cutting-edge alternative to the established conference. Organizers played up EGN's online meeting planner, closed-off demonstration rooms, and the executive-oriented conference program. There would also be plenty of VIP areas on hand for those present to get their schmooze on