View source for European Computer Trade Show

{{Short description|1988–2004 European video game trade show}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name         = European Computer Trade Show
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| status       = No longer active
| genre        = <!-- e.g. natural phenomena, fairs, festivals, conferences, exhibitions ... -->
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| begins       = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|mm|dd}} -->
| ends         = <!-- {{end date|YYYY|mm|dd}} -->
| frequency    = Annually
| venue        = 
| location     = [[London]]
| coordinates  = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|type:event|display=inline,title}} --> 
| country      = 
| years_active = <!-- {{age|YYYY|mm|dd}} Date of the first occurrence -->
| first        = {{start date and age|1988|4|16}}
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| last         = {{End date|2004|9|1}}
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| website      = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
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}}
The '''European Computer Trade Show''' ('''ECTS''') was an annual [[trade show]] for the [[Europe]]an [[video game industry]] which first ran in 1988, the final event being held in 2004.

The exposition was only open to industry professionals and journalists,<ref name="EGM88">{{cite magazine |last1=Rider |first1=David |last2=Semrad |first2=Ed |title=ECTS: The European Game Show Sets London on Fire! |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |issue=88 |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |date=November 1996 |pages=160–161}}</ref> although it was frequently attended by members of the public who had faked credentials. Due to the wide-scale nature of this problem, many exhibitors planned stalls which appealed to both trade and public, except when alternative public shows were planned such as the Future Entertainment Show and Game Stars Live.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://search.lma.gov.uk/LMA_DOC/LMA_4684.pdf |title=Fixture Lists |author=London Metropolitan Archives}}</ref>

ECTS was always held at a London venue, usually between the end of August and the beginning of September. Its original home was the [[Business Design Centre]] in [[Islington]]. In 1995 it was relocated to the Grand Hall at [[Olympia London|Olympia]] in [[Kensington]]. The 2001 event took place at the [[ExCeL Exhibition Centre]] in [[Newham]] and the last three, to 2004, were at the [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/LMA_OPAC/web_detail/REFD+LMA~2F4684?SESSIONSEARCH |title=EARLS COURT AND OLYMPIA |author=London Metropolitan Archives}}</ref>

From 2001 until 2004, the Game Developers Conference Europe was held alongside ECTS. Unlike the primarily press-oriented ECTS, GDCE focused on talks and discussions about the development of games, and was aimed at the developers themselves. In 2004, however, GDCE moved locations and ran alongside the Game Stars Live event. In April 2005, organiser [[CMP Media|CMP]] announced that they had withdrawn from the British trade show market, marking the end of seventeen years of shows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://netyaroze-europe.com/Community/1999-European-Computer-Trade-Show |title=Special Events: 1999 - European-Computer-Trade-Show}}</ref>

==Venues==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Dates
!Venue
|-
|1989
|16–18 April
|[[Business Design Centre]]
|-
|1990	
|1–3 April			
|Business Design Centre
|-
|1991	
|14–16 April			
|Business Design Centre
|-
|1992	
|12–14 April			
|Business Design Centre
|-
|	
|6–8 September		
|Business Design Centre
|-
|1993	
|4–6 April			
|Business Design Centre
|-
|	
|5–7 September		
|Business Design Centre
|-
|1994	
|10–12 April			
|Business Design Centre
|-
|	
|4–6 September		
|Business Design Centre
|-
|1995	
|26–28 March
|[[Olympia, England|Olympia]]<ref>{{cite journal|title=PlayStation Dominates European Show |journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=6|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=June 1995|page=14 |quote=The venue was at Olympia - instead of the regular site, the Business Design Center in London - and was attended by 8,500 people during the three-day event.}}</ref>
|-
|	
|10–12 September		
|Olympia<ref>{{cite journal|title=ECTS: Sony and Sega Battle in Europe|journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=11|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=November 1995|page=17|quote=The European game industry's bi-annual trade bash took place in mid-September at Olympia in London ...}}</ref>
|-
|1996	
|14–16 April			
|Olympia
|-
|	
|8–10 September		
|Olympia<ref name="EGM88"/>
|-
|1997	
|7–9 September		
|Olympia
|-
|1998	
|6–8 September		
|Olympia
|-
|1999	
|5–7 September		
|Olympia
|-
|2000	
|3–5 September		
|Olympia
|-
|2001	
|2–4 September		
|ExCeL
|-
|2002 	
|29–31 August		
|Earls Court Exhibition Centre
|-
|2003	
|27–29 August		
|Earls Court Exhibition Centre
|-
|2004	
|1–3 September		
|Earls Court Exhibition Centre
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120513012917/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130547/event_wrapup_london_games_week_.php London Games Week 2004]
* [https://www.informamarkets.com/en/home.html Organiser]
{{Video Game Trade Shows}}

[[Category:Defunct gaming conventions]]
[[Category:Information technology organizations based in Europe]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1988]]


{{videogame-culture-stub}}