Earls Court's final Eurogamer Expo - Is the location change a good move?

Last week, I travelled down to Earl's Court in London to attend EGX games show (previously named Eurogamer). It is not the first time I have been to the event, and I did not realise that it would be the last time I would visit it at this location.

[breakout title="Joanne Kendrick" align="right"]Joanne Kendrick is a gaming blogger, and will cover news and reviews from the gaming world. She has written for the gaming websites Ready Up and Made2Game, as well as PlayGamer magazine. You can read more from her at Checkpoint Reached.[/breakout]

Many, many games conventions are held in London, but EGX is a big one, and as a huge gamer, it is the one I always make sure I go to over any other. It is an opportunity to catch up with the people I know in and around London, and with others from around the country, for what is likely to be a once-a-year meet up.

I only attended on the Thursday and Friday of the four day event, though there are many who stay for the whole weekend because the event is so big. Unfortunately for me, my time was limited due to factors such as the fact that I would have to rob a bank to be able to afford to stay in London for that long. Since time was of the essence I spent my days darting from one attraction to the next, eyes like saucers, sometimes walking straight past people I knew, unintentionally ignoring them. I suppose being surrounded by the thing you love, that you can play for free, is a little bit like being a kid in a toy shop, except everything is open and ready for you to play with for the day.

The catch, of course, is the queueing. Every expo veteran knows the agony of waiting for the game you want to play. Especially if the game you want to play is the same as the game a few thousand others want to play. I saw a genius girl pull out a 3DS and I wished I had had the same foresight. Queues for top games such as Call of Duty and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel could be up to two hours long. Dragon Age: Inquisition boasted a four hour queue at one point.

Of course, if you aren't fussed about the biggest titles, then there are a host of other things you can do/play. You can play some of the smaller, yet just as fun indie games.

You can attend developer sessions held by people who worked on games, giving you a further insight into what happens behind the scenes. The floor is also bursting with merchandise stands, where you can buy t-shirts, figurines, books, and other things.

Why am I telling you about this? Well, it seems that the new location is none other than Birmingham's NEC. From September 24-27 2015, the NEC will host EGX.

The relocation is seen as a move spurred by expansion, so hopefully this means that the event will be bigger than ever, although pricing will remain the same as this year.

What I'm curious about, is whether the locals in London will travel up to Birmingham. London is seen to be the home of gaming, and it remains to be seen whether another Expo being created in London at any point would overtake EGX in popularity. However, the flipside of the move is that with Birmingham being so centralised, the event would attract more from all over the UK. What we are looking at is not a lost audience, but a new one.