Now into its fourth year, the International Digital Entertainment Festival, which incorporates the eGames Expo, is at a crossroads, a cusp on which support from the gamer community may make the difference to the show’s success.

The biggest change is in the venue, moving from the modern expanses of the Melbourne Exhibition Centre to the cosier atmosphere of the Royal Exhibition Buildings. The other major changes of note for gamers will be the distinct lack of major publishers at this year’s show. Gone from eGames are Sony and Nintendo, with only a presence from Xbox 360 putting up a specific console brand.

On the publisher front; Ubisoft will be showing Splinter Cell: Conviction, Assassin’s Creed II, James Cameron’s Avatar and Red Steel 2. BioShock publisher 2k International will present the just-released Borderlands.

If you are a fan of driving games, the organisers are concentrating on making this eGames Expo as hands-on as possible.

V8 fans can jump in a simulator of the great Aussie race cars, or try ‘Drive a Race Car’. Each simulator seat is set on 3 electronic actuators which are capable of 490 movements per second so you’re sure to experience the exhilaration of driving in a real race car. With119cm High Definition LCD TV screens to create crystal clear, high resolution pictures, Drive a Race Car is not a game, but – according to the organisers - highly sophisticated recreation of reality.

Other virtual driving fun can be had with Xbox 360’s Foza Motorsport 3 or the intriguing sounding Targa Tasmania from Dozycow. According to eGames folk “Drawing directly from the Targa Tasmania rally held annually on the Australian island state of Tasmania, players are introduced to the most innovative multiplayer experience in a racing game ever. For the first time, players are able to compete as either the vehicle's driver or navigator, completely revolutionising the way racing games are played.”

Attendees will take part in the eGames Masters, signing up for competitive tournaments in Halo ODST, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Street Fighter 4 to name a few.

The Indi Zone and Retro Challenge will contain plenty of games to try, new and unreleased as well as old favourites. In addition there plenty of smaller distributers and publishers will be in attendance hoping to catch the eye of customers who normally stick to mainstream outlets for their gaming goodness. Companies such as Madman (Split Second, Spectrobes Origins) and AFA Interactive (A boy and his blob, Arcania) will be on hand to give punters access to their wares.

The on stage line up is yet to be finalised, at past expo’s stage exhibitions have included a variety topics, from intel announcing and showing off their new core i7 architecture to Guitar Hero competitions and various talking heads from within the industry discussing the challenges of the video-game lifestyle today.

This country is a small market for the video-game industry, relatively speaking, and a place for gamers to come together for a publishing showcase is rare. eGames Expo as part of the broader iDEF09 show is an opportunity for publishers or distributors to showcase new or about to be released products direct to the public.

The International Digital Entertainment Festival 09 is on from Friday 30th of October through to Sunday 1st of November. iDEF09 features eGames Expo, Digital Lifesyle Show and Develop: ICT Skills and Careers Expo.

Royal Exhibition Buildings

Show Times:

• Friday: 1pm - 7pm
  
• Saturday: 10am - 7pm
  
• Sunday: 10am - 5pm

Ticket Prices at the door:

• Adult - $18
  
• Concession - $13
  
• Family - $40
  (2 Adults, 2 Children)
  
• 3 Day Pass - $33
  Children under 12 admitted free