Last week saw the sixth edition of the annual Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, Finland’s biggest B2B event for the games industry - and this year it was even bigger than ever!
Across the two days of October 1st and 2nd, more than 1,400 attendees gathered at new venue, The Cable Factory. As always at a Connects event, there was a wonderful cross-section of the industry, from students up to CEOs and top investors. Over 30 per cent of the registered attendees were C-level.
As a truly international expo, we welcomed visitors from over 40 countries and more than 600 companies including EA, Microsoft, Bethesda, Remedy Entertainment and Epic Games. More than 3,300 meetings were arranged through the free online meeting scheduler, with many more taking place outside of this system.
Continuing the trend for bigger numbers in 2019, the 16-track conference schedule offered a whopping 60 sessions and more than 110 hours of content.
Speakers, sessions, pitches and jams
Continuing the trend for bigger numbers in 2019, the 16-track conference schedule offered a whopping 60 sessions and more than 110 hours of content! Nearly 200 speakers shared their expertise on stage, with notable highlights being the keynote sessions from Game Analytics, Vungle, Super Evil Megacorp, Geewa, App Annie, Hatch, minimob, Nutaku, and Riot Games.
There were also curated sessions such as Investor Connector, and Publisher SpeedMatch, which were invitation-only get-togethers, bringing together studios, publishers and investors from around the world.
The Nordic round of our hugely popular international Big Indie Pitch competitions was hotly contested by 16 entrants. Our congratulations to the overall winner, Studio Waterzooi for Please, Touch The Artwork.
And the 28-hour game jam that was Pocket Jam 4 kept 10 teams busy in the basement creating games on the theme of ‘organic’, with Mochabot Organic taking the win.
For a mobile game developer, publisher, service provider, PGC has become the most important event by far.Kim Soares, Kukouri Mobile Entertainment
Quote me on that!
We were genuinely touched by the warm reception from attendees in Helsinki this year from both new faces and old friends. Here’s just some of the feedback we’ve had:
- "Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki was one of the best gaming events I've ever been to! Can't wait for next year! You guys really nailed it!" - Joakim Akrim (Next Games co-founder)
- "Well, that's a wrap! #PGCHelsinki 2019 was fierce. So many fantastic people and insightful discussions around the #MobileGaming industry we all adore. Thank you and see you all soon!" - Wappier
- “PGC always gathers high-level industry people and manages to create such a welcoming atmosphere that you are in the mood to talk business from the first step you set on the venue.” - Rebecca Lautner, loots
- “Pocket Gamer Connects is the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with some of the most talented studios in the industry. It perfectly balances exhibition, talks and panels, and meeting areas.” - Falko Boecker, JoyPac
- “I have said this before and I say it again: for a mobile game developer, publisher, service provider, PGC has become the most important event by far.” - Kim Soares, Kukouri Mobile Entertainment
It was a focused week of games industry activity that underpinned Helsinki's claim to be the capital of the mobile games industry (and with a fair claim on the PC and console industries too!)Chris James, Steel Media
Chris James, CEO with event organisers Steel Media said: “Coming back to Helsinki is always a highlight of the year for us as a business and me personally. The city and the games community have been closely involved in the Steel Media story since our earliest days working with the likes of Nokia, Rovio and Digital Chocolate (whatever happened to them?).”
He continued: “Crucially, it is the inclusive, supportive approach fostered by groups like the IGDA and their members that directly informed the open, sharing and fun approach that we've tried to build in our conferences and media. Judging by the lovely feedback we've received so far, our relentlessly hard-working team and incredibly generous speakers and sponsors did a pretty good job in achieving precisely that, in what was our biggest and best event in the region yet.
“Of course, it's not all about making friends and having fun, at the end of the day the focus of the show is as much about generating business as it is inspiring and educating. With thousands of meetings arranged through our system alongside multiple fringe events, the Cable Factory was every bit as industrious as you'd hope over the two days. Indeed, with the IGDA Leadership Day on the Monday immediately before Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, it was a focused week of games industry activity that underpinned Helsinki's claim to be the capital of the mobile games industry (and with a fair claim on the PC and console industries too!)”
He concluded: “There are so many people I'd like to thank personally, but at the end of the day a heartfelt kiitos to everyone who came and supported – we love you all and we will be back!"
Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan is this November 2nd and 3rd. Save up to $150 with Mid-Term prices if you book before midnight this Thursday.
Thank you
Thanks again to everyone that came to Helsinki last week and made the event something truly special.
We’d also like to thank our supporters once more, including Gold level sponsors: Minimob, Labcave, App Annie, Mintegral, Game Refinery, AppsFlyer, Ogury, Unity, Mobvista, Rovio, Nutaku, G-STAR, and Adtiming.
Want more?
If you can’t get enough of Connects events, then the good news is there’s not long to wait for your next fix! The next destination for the international series of events is the first Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan this November 2nd and 3rd. Save up to $150 with Mid-Term prices if you book before midnight this Thursday, October 10th.
The series returns in 2020 kicking off the world tour once more in London on January 20th and 21st.
