The first SAGA Barcelona Game Fest, held from 9 to 11 October at Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue, drew about 21,200 visitors, according to the organisers’ closing release on 11 October. The figure has not been independently verified.
160 studios and 1,591 business meetings
The closing release and the organisers’ programme release of 22 September also report:
- more than 2,000 students and teachers taking part in around twenty training activities;
- more than 160 independent studios and 360 stands;
- 1,591 business meetings, against a pre-show target of 1,500, with more than 30 international publishers and investors in the professional area;
- more than 500 play points, 150 classic arcade machines and over 200 independent games, up to 70 of them available in Catalan.
Japan as the first guest country
Japan was the festival’s first guest country. Nintendo had an official stand with its latest releases available to play, and the My Famicase Exhibition came from Tokyo with 250 illustrated cartridge designs. A highlight was a live interview with two composers: Miki Higashino, whose Konami credits include Suikoden and Gradius, and Manami Matsumae, who worked on Capcom’s Mega Man and Final Fight soundtracks and later contributed to Shovel Knight, as the organisers and the Portuguese-language site JWave reported. Pianist and composer Elesky performed on the Sunday.
A fan show with a trade floor
SAGA mixed a public show with a trade programme. Its business area used the MeetToMatch platform, and Larian sponsored a mentorship strand for developers. The organisers named Devolver Digital and Larian among the international companies taking part, and the September release listed Kepler Entertainment, 11 bit studios and Bandai Namco among the publishers and investors expected. Spokesperson Tina Font said the event had exceeded all of the organisers’ expectations, and that success comes ‘when a studio manages to close a contract or find funding’.
The public programme included Street Fighter 6, Mario Strikers and Pokémon Champions tournaments, a League of Legends exhibition match between Barça eSports and UB Alma Mater, a cosplay runway and the ‘Gaming en Femenino’ exhibition on women in the industry. The festival had institutional support from the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and Spain’s Ministry of Culture.
The organisers say a second edition will be held at Fira de Barcelona next year but have not announced dates. For Spain’s independent scene, the meeting count matters more than the attendance: a first-year event that brings 160 studios together with 30 international publishers and investors can become a regional pitching venue, if those meetings lead to deals.