Organizers of the GC (Games Convention) consumer and trade video game event in Leipzig, Germany have announced that the rate of registrations for the 2006 convention has already exceeded that for the previous year. Additionally, the overall display area is expanding by six percent to 85,000 square meters, with the GC Business Center already almost booked out. "We're extremely happy with this interim result four months before the event begins. It confirms our position as the industry's leading event in Europe", says project director Angela Schierholz. In 2005, 134,000 people attended the joint consumer and industry event, which featured products from 280 different exhibitors, including more or less all of the world's major video game publishers. The 2006 convention will open first on August 23rd for business and media attendees, a day before entry is given to the public Although the GC event has in many ways now replaced the defunct London-based ECTS show, its focus is broader than many similar events, with the 2006 convention promising a 5,000 square metre 3D board game, as well as many other family-related activities and media displays. The 2006 Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) will also take place from August 21st to 23rd, with hundreds of conference delegates and speakers expected from Germany and abroad, and with IGDA chairman Bob Bates and Stormfront Sudios CEO Don L. Daglow already confirmed as speakers. "Within the last four years, the GCDC has established itself as the industry's most important European platform. The number of attendees from both Germany and abroad has risen steadily", added Schierholz.